Golden Darkness
by Felixy
Summary: Kaitlyn Swift, a girl that was ordinary until a car accident that changed her life forever. Is meeting her-supposed-to-be-in-coma childhood friends, and catching the attention of academies from the Other World the worst that is going to happen to her?
1. Chapter 1

Golden Darkness

_**Prologue**_

Billions of centuries ago, the world is divided into two, the mortals and the immortals, both controlled by Zeus, who had the highest authority of all. The immortal world was controlled by Hera, the second highest authority to Zeus. She then set up two academies, the light academy, ruled by the god of Sun, Apollo, and the dark academy, ruled by the goddess of Moon, Artemis.

Many wondered why did Hera allow the siblings to rule the academy when she hated them more than anything. The answer was very simple; she was making use of the siblings all along. Hera controlled the world for centuries, making use of the siblings without knowing that they were _plotting their revenge_... When things finally get out of hands, the siblings, together with the academy destroyed Hera in a single blow, the keyword was _unity_...

*****

_**Chapter 1**_

"Mom, I'm off to school." Kaitlyn Swift said to the woman in the picture frame by the side of her bedroom door before leaving. She blew a kiss at it and left the room. She ran down the steps two at a time.

"Kaitlyn, what would you like for breakfast?" Aunt Pamela, Kaitlyn's stepmother, shouted from the kitchen. Kaitlyn went into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread and placed it in between her teeth. "Kaitlyn, you need a proper breakfast." Aunt Pamela nagged.

Kaitlyn shook her head patiently. "It's okay, Aunt Pamela. I've got to go to school early today." Aunt Pamela nodded her head and waved. Kaitlyn turned to go but heard the slam of the front door.

Kaitlyn's older brother, Klaus, appeared. His dark eyes, just like his sisters, scanned the house. "Hey, Kaitlyn." He said, as he saw his little sister standing in front of him, and ruffled her long and silky golden hair.

"Where were you last night? Aunt Pamela was worried about you." Kaitlyn asked suspiciously.

"Why would she care?" Klaus push past Kaitlyn and strode to his room. _What's with him?_ She thought. Kaitlyn went out of the house.

Klaus had told her that he hated Aunt Pamela, because she was responsible for their mother's death. Kaitlyn's mother had gotten a heart attack after she found out about Kaitlyn's father's affair with Aunt Pamela. Kaitlyn shook her head. _It was no use thinking about that. Aunt Pamela was a nice person. She maybe couldn't resist my father's charm, just like everybody else. _She thought.

Kaitlyn crossed the yard and walked to the path leading to her school, Olympus High School. She had always walked to school alone, but today, she couldn't understand why she felt so afraid. She felt like someone's watching her. Something very dangerous is following her. She turned around but saw nobody there. She turned back and walked a few steps forward when another different feeling crept towards her. Instead of the dangerous cold fear she experienced before, she felt warm and protected. Kaitlyn does not feel right, in fact, the feelings don't feel right… Somebody, _or something_, is stalking her. And that thing is definitely not _human_…

*****


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

"No, it must be my imagination, everything's alright." Kaitlyn assured herself.

But her actions do not match her words. She quicken her pace, walked as fast as she can, trying her very best to sweep off the feelings. Just as she reached the end of the pavement, the fear was back again. Unable to get off the feelings, she crossed the road.

"BEEP!" A red-coloured sports car came rushing towards her.

Kaitlyn stood rooted to the ground. Her instinct was pressuring her to run, yet her limbs wouldn't obey. But that's not the only thing, something is pressing against her shoulders, preventing her from running away.

"NO!!!" Kaitlyn screamed just as the car came in centimeters away from her. A burst of golden light came shining from her body; blinding her as everything came into darkness. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the hospital's bed. And the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Aunt Pamela.

"Kaitlyn!" Aunt Pamela exclaimed. "You're finally awake! You had been sleeping for the past 3 days!"

Kaitlyn refused to believe that she had slept for 3 days, therefore she asked Aunt Pamela for the date that day. Indeed, she had been sleeping for that long.

"Growl~" her stomach shouted out of hunger.

Everyone started staring at her stomach and smiled, while she blushed. After finishing her meal, she started firing lots of questions at Aunt Pamela.

"Knock, knock." A young man at his twenties came in with a bouquet of red roses. Kaitlyn smiled while he apologized and explained the situation that day. But there's a part that Kaitlyn do not understand.

"I could not stop the brakes at that specific timing. I remember that the brakes were working perfectly… But whatever it is, I'm sorry." The guy apologized sincerely and left afterwards.

"Everything that happened was more than a coincidence," Kaitlyn believed. First, she got stalked by something that is definitely not human; Secondly, she was almost got knocked down by a car. She then remembered very carefully, about how she wanted to run away yet something is preventing her from doing so. And at that specific time, the brakes aren't working. Thirdly, what is the blinding golden light? _And lastly, what exactly is happening around her?_

*****


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Felix was waiting impatiently for the news. His face grew darker as every second passed. He paced up the hallway, to and fro. Finally, his long-awaited good news was here.

"Felix, my lord, I'm back." Brendon reported.

"Ahh… Finally, Brendon, my favorite disciple." His face immediately changed into a different colour when he saw his disciple came in empty handed. And his eyes burned with fury. "Armstrong! Where is the newbie? I am really disappointed in you today. You took so long just to come back empty handed?! I demand to know what's happening!" Felix's voice boomed through the huge room. The pillars started burning with fire yet the room is unusually cold.

"My lord, I've caught sight of this golden haired girl who stood out from the others. I tried to get her killed, in a car accident. Yet, just as I was to succeed, a golden light shone from her body and blinding my vision. When I opened my eyes, the girl was lying down with minor head injuries. My lord, I doubt it's the light academy students, the light is something I had never seen before, pure golden." Brendon reported obediently, trying very hard to stop his body from trembling.

"Golden Darkness…" Felix murmured.

"Golden Darkness? My lord, do you mean the legendary Golden Darkness, the one which is the most powerful of all?" Brendon asked with curiosity.

Ignoring his question, Felix walked to the big window and stared into the sky,

He said, "The legendary Golden Darkness, known as the darkest of the dark, and the brightest of the light. It is even more powerful than our silver darknesses. 1% of its power is equivalent to all of your powers, Brendon Armstrong. It just takes her 10% of her powers to kill all of us in this World, including the light academy. That's how powerful it is."

Brendon shivered with fear as Felix continued, "Brendon, you do not have to find newbies for me from now on. I have a new task for you; get the golden darkness before the light academy gets her. Remember, do not disappoint me again."

"Yes, my lord, I shall excuse myself now." Brendon retreated from the room.

"Nadine, wait and see, I will be invincible. Not even you can stop me now…" Felix smirked as the glass cracked.

Meanwhile, the same thing was happening in the light academy.

"Raye, listen carefully, no matter what, get the girl before the dark academy can lay their dirty hands on her. Even if it meant war…" Nadine, the goddess said.

Raye excused himself as he trembled under the goddess words, _even if it meant war…_

"Brother, I shall not let you have your ways…" the beautiful goddess whispered within the walls.

*****


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

"Hello, my beloved sister, long time no see." Felix said as he smirked cunningly.

"Hello, brother. It is, a long time _since the last battle_." The brave goddess replied calmly.

"Keep your wisdom to yourself, Nadine, as the next time will be the last time to determine _my victory_."

"Brother, stop your evil ways! I beg you, why won't you just give up?" The goddess sobbed.

"Shut up!" Felix shouted angrily, "Fear not, sister, I shall spare your life if _YOU_ give up now."

"Felix! Why can't you come to your senses now? Have you forgotten how Hera, the previous Golden Darkness, made use of us for her own selfish needs? The anger? Have you too, forgotten of the unity both academies possess to destroy Hera? Please, brother, it's not too late to turn back now,_ leave the golden darkness alone_…" Nadine begged her brother.

"_Leave the Golden Darkness alone_, and let you get her? No way, sister, you're too naïve. It's either you give up your throne at the academy, or you give up your life, this is your choice. Choose carefully." Felix said as his eyes burned with fury and anger.

"Then I shall choose to give up my life. For you, brother, and for the world." The goddess replied without hesitation.

"Yes, a good choice indeed, Remember, this shall be our last talk, sister, as next would be a bloody battle. By then, I will be invincible." Felix laughed as his voice grew fainter.

Nadine stared after her brother as he slowly disappeared from her sight. She recalled the happy days back then, where they were still a family, no hatred, no enormity, nothing but peace. Why? When had her brother became this dark, heartless, cold-blooded beast? They're supposed to be inseparable twins, why had things become this bloody? Why? The goddess wondered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

*****


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

It had been a month since the car accident, and Aunt Pamela had been sending Kaitlyn to school, to prevent any more car accidents.

"Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn, KAITLYN!" Tiffany Britney, close friend A, shouted loudly at Kaitlyn.

"A penny for your thoughts, Kaitlyn, what's wrong?" Sunny Smith, close friend B, asked with concern.

"Nothing… Nothing at all, I'm just tired." Kaitlyn mumbled to herself.

But it's not nothing at all, Kaitlyn had been experiencing the same feelings of fear and warmth that fateful day. Someone was watching her from afar. Kaitlyn then recalled the dream that she had the night before. Somewhere in the darkness, a pair of cold, menacing, green eyes was staring at her. As if it was looking through her, the fear, the hatred, the anger, all feelings were displayed clearly as the pair of eyes just stares silently. The next second, before she knew it, she was filled with warmth and love, the room was no longer dark, it's bright and warm… When she woke up, she realizes her windows were opened. She remembered that she had closed the windows before she went to bed. Kaitlyn trembled in fear as the cold wind blew across her face. _What exactly was her dream telling her? And who opened her windows?_

Homeroom started, Mr. Andrews walked in with a couple of hot, gorgeous guys.

"Class, these guys are Brendon and Raye Armstrong. I hope you guys can get along with them."

Brendon Armstrong, Raye Armstrong… The names, the faces, why do they all look so familiar… Green eyes! Brendon's eyes are green, they're cold and menacing. But, no, it's impossible, and it's not the reasons why they seemed familiar to Kaitlyn. _What was it exactly?_ Kaitlyn started thinking, and without her knowledge, Brendon Armstrong walked towards the guy beside her.

"Scram!" He commanded, like a bully, the killer's aura was so strong that the guy had to moved and give up his seat. Brendon, without any gratefulness, slammed his bag on the floor and sat beside Kaitlyn.

Surprisingly, the other guy, Raye, did the same thing, but with manners… The class chatted loudly as the confused Kaitlyn wonder why, why did they choose the seats beside her of all places? Why do they seem so familiar to her? _Why, why, why? _

*****


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

Kaitlyn thought she could finally have a break from everything, but little did she know that lunch break would be even worse then she thought. The tables beside her were crowded with people that gave her a total headache, neither Sunny nor Tiffany could even get close to her table.

"Enough!" Kaitlyn thought as she stood up and leave the classroom as fast as possible.

"Kaitlyn! Do you know…" Tiffany stops her question as soon as she saw the pale face of Kaitlyn. "Kaitlyn, what's wrong? You look pale!"

Kaitlyn felt dizzy, a sharp pain pierced through her head. Everything around her started spinning, and she could not walk straight. "Kaitlyn!" was what she heard before everything came into total darkness.

"Doctor, Is something wrong with Kaitlyn? Why did she faint?" Kaitlyn could hear Sunny's voice coming from behind the curtains.

"There's nothing wrong with her, it should be her head injuries she got from the accident a month ago. She'll just need some rest and she'll be on her feet." A different voice, which would be the doctor, said.

"Argh," Kaitlyn groaned as she tried to sit upright.

"Kaitlyn! How are you feeling right now?" Tiffany asked, from their faces, Kaitlyn could see that they're really worried about her.

From the corner of her eyes, she spotted the Armstrong brothers. "It was Raye who carried you to the infirmary. It seems that they were behind us all along when you faint." Sunny said when she saw Kaitlyn's puzzled face gazing at the brothers.

Kaitlyn couldn't understand why were the Armstrong brothers behind her, when they were supposed to be at the classroom entertaining their classmates? Were they following her? Or was it pure coincidence? She stared suspiciously at the brothers, refusing to believe this gorgeous pair of brothers would be the one behind everything. The door of the infirmary creaked open, the room turned into a pin drop silence.

"Kaitlyn? Is that you?" A familiar deep and gentle voice broke the silence within the room.

"Chris!" Kaitlyn exclaimed and break into smiles.

*****


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

The tall guy, with long, silky back hair, Christopher was one of the important people Kaitlyn cannot live without.

"Are you okay? I've heard that you fainted." Chris said as he entered the room and he stared at the brothers with curiousity.

"Chris, these are the Armstrong brothers. Raye and Brendon, this guy here is my boyfriend, Christopher." I made the introduction.

"I'm Christopher Kidney, nice to meet you." Chris offered his hand, but kept it as he noticed that the brothers made no initiative to shake his hand.

"Kaitlyn, we'll leave first," Tiffany and Sunny dragged the brothers and left the couple alone. They must have sensed the awkward situation in the room, too.

"Why are they here? Are you very close to them?" kaitlyn could sense the jealousy from the sound of Chris's voice.

Kaitlyn can't help but smiled, "Chris… it was Raye who brought me to the infirmary when I fainted…"

Chris, unable to hold in the jealousy, laid his head down on Kaitlyn's, "I don't want them to get close to you, Kat…" He whimpered like a jealous puppy.

Kaitlyn pulled Chris away from her shoulder and stared deeply into his eyes, "Chris, listen to me, I belong to you along, and you don't have to worry about anything." She assured him, never once did her eyes left his.

"Kaitlyn…" Chris leaned forward and their bodies almost touched. He then run his fingertips across her lips with one of his hand while the other held her by the back of her head, with a gentle movement, he placed his lips over hers. Kaitlyn could felt her face blushing red and felt the heat emitting from Chris's body. She then felt the mint-flavoured kiss melting in her mouth. She relaxed and closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet mint kiss. Slowly, he slides his tongue in her mouth, making the kiss into something hot and passionate, but it would have been better if Tiffany and Sunny did not come in and interfered.

"Knock, knock." Kaitlyn pushed Chris away reluctantly, but the hurt expression on his face made her regretted what she had just done.

"Kaitlyn, it's time for the next lesson!" Tiffany eyed them suspiciously as she saw their red faces.

Just right outside the infirmary, the friends demanded Kaitlyn to spill everything out, from the time they were left alone in the infirmary to the time they left the room.

"Nothing?! Just kissing?!" Sunny asked with disappointment after Kaitlyn told them EVERYTHING.

"Sunny, we had only been dating for half a year! What were you expecting?!" Kaitlyn said, blushing at her own words.

While Sunny and Tiffany argued over what would happen next, Kaitlyn caught the reflection of the Armstrong brothers following behind them from a nearby mirror. Kaitlyn wondered if this is just a coincidence, they were just going back to the same classroom after all, right? She wouldn't dare to jump to any conclusion for the time being…

_*********_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8:**_

"Kaitlyn? Earth to Kaitlyn!" Sunny waved, hoping to get her friend's fullest attention by doing so.

"Yes? What?" Kaitlyn asked in confusion.

Tiffany frowned, "Didn't we say it very clearly just now? We, the class, had decided to organize a welcoming party for the Armstrong brothers. It's this Saturday, at noon, in the karaoke lounge nearest to our school."

"And we're suggesting that you bring Chris along." Sunny raved.

Kaitlyn hesitated and nod "It's such a good idea… not." Kaitlyn thought to herself.

Kaitlyn would not have mind bringing Chris along, but his jealousy could be a problem if she was to observe the brothers.

"Kat!" Chris's voice woke her up from her thoughts, "Can I tag along this Saturday? Sunny told me about it!"Chris asked with his voice full of expectation.

Sunny appeared from behind Chris, beaming from ears to ears, looking like a puppy who wanted to be praised after doing something good. Instead, Kaitlyn glared at her, and thank her sarcastically.

"Thanks a lot, Sunny Smith!" She then walked away, leaving her friends in total puzzlement.

As Kaitlyn walked down the hallway, practically almost all eyes were on her. "Of course, I'm, after all, the beauty queen for last year." She thought as she enjoyed the attention focused on her.

"I'll get the golden darkness, so give up now, Raye!" A rough voice came from the corridor as she walked down the stairs. As an instinct, she hid behind the stairs sneakily.

The talk had gotten her all excited, what's this about Golden Darkness? Was that Brendon? Kaitlyn knew that it was wrong of her to eavesdropped, but she just couldn't bring her ears away from the conversation.

"It won't hurt to hear a little, Kaitlyn." She told herself and gave in to temptation.

"Brendon, it's not too late to change." The fact that his brother was acting so calm started to tick Brendon off.

"Raye, you should have known, I had chosen the darkness and I shall continue living in the dark. Nothing will ever change that fact." Though the voice sounded calm, Kaitlyn could tell that he's furious, even without looking at his facial expression.

"Brendon, you know it's your choice, but please leave the golden darkness alone." Kaitlyn shivered at his words.

Do they always have a bad relationship between each other?

"Tch, what makes you think that I will? Do you think that I'd never notice? Aren't you head over heels with that goddess of yours? Am I wrong?" Brendon said mockingly.

"You bastard!" Raye thundered.

"Did I hit a nail on the head?" Brendon continued.

Seeing his 'always-so-calm' brother freaked out entertained him.

"Shut up!" Raye exploded, followed after was the crash of glasses.

A fight! Kaitlyn knew he had to stop them. Without hesitation, she ran out of her hiding place.

"No! Stop!" She yelled with her eyes shut.

But when she opened her eyes, it wasn't what she expected to see. Instead of two hot and gorgeous brothers fighting, what she saw was the empty corridor with a few piece of shattered glass.

_*********_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9:**_

Kaitlyn looked around the unfamiliar surroundings, but instead of feeling frightened, she felt relaxed. It was like a paradise to her. The sky was blue and clear; the land was clean and green. The river shone under the Sunlight; the flowers looked like they were dancing along with the wind. Kaitlyn felt light, freed of troubles.

Standing a few kilometres away from her, was her deceased mother. She rubbed her eyes, to confirm that that was not a dream, not an illusion.

"Mom?" Kaitlyn cried.

She felt her tears rolled down her cheek as her mother opened up her arms wide and gestured Kaitlyn to come forward. Kaitlyn ran and ran, but she just could not touch her mother. Kaitlyn does not mind, instead, she felt contented just by seeing her again.

She stood there, helplessly as her mother disappeared from her sight. She knew that it's impossible for her mom to come back from the dead, but she couldn't help but let the tears rolled down. She buried her head in her hands as she cried her heart out.

How long had it been since she cried so hardly? She missed her mother, she hated her life now. She stopped crying when a hand pats her head, she can't help but shout out for her mother. She looked up, hoping with all her might that it's her mother. But standing there was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her entire life.

The woman had long silky black hair and had the prettiest sapphire-blue eyes Kaitlyn had ever seen. The woman was wearing a silvery dress with a white shawl over her arms. Kaitlyn held her breath as the woman spoke.

"You must be Kaitlyn Swift."

Kaitlyn nodded obediently, she felt that there was a need to obey this woman here.

"Let me introduced myself, I'm Nadine," She smiled, revealing the row of white teeth, "I'm the goddess of light academy."

Goddess? I had never heard of a goddess named Nadine! Not in literature! Am I going to be a sacrifice for her? Or was there some mistake that I survived through the car accident and they're here to take away my life?

"No," Nadine chuckled, "I'm not here to take your life away, I'm here to protect you. It's because of your own powers that you survived the car accident."

"You can read my mind?"

Nadine nodded.

"Oh. And the powers you're talking about?"

"You'll realize that eventually, but now it's not the ripe time for your powers to be awakened."

"Then, when will the time be right?" Kaitlyn asked.

Just as the goddess wanted to open her mouth to answer Kaitlyn's question, the ground under her feet started shaking abruptly. Kaitlyn had a bad premonition about what is going to happen next. She then looked up and caught a glimpse of the goddess's frightful face.

"Nadine?"

"No, no! Felix! Stop!" Nadine shrieked, "Kaitlyn, run away, quick!"

"But Nadine, you…"

"Don't worry, he can't harm me here, but he has the ability to harm you! Quick! Run and don't turn back! But please remember this, don't allow the…"

"What?"

"Academy gets near you! Beware of…"

"Nadine?"

"Don't allow your powers to awaken now, it can cause disruption to the world peace! Please, Kait… Run now!" Kaitlyn ran as Nadine's voice gets softer and softer till it's beyond human's ears.

Kaitlyn knew that she was still in the paradise but she did not felt safe, but instead, she felt afraid. She had the same feelings as the day when the accident took place.

"You were afraid…" A deep voice broke into Kaitlyn's thoughts.

Soon, she was plunged into darkness. She looked around but all she could see was just darkness. Nothing.

"You were afraid of being alone…"

"What?" Kaitlyn trembled.

What was the voice about? What was it saying?

"Swift " a different voice from before, this sounded familiar.

"Huh?"

"You do not want to be left alone…"

"Quiet, please…" Kaitlyn squat down in the darkness and covered her ears.

"You're alive because it's an accident…"

"Quiet!"

"You should be dead, you should not be here."

"No!"

"Kaitlyn Swift!"

"Shut up!" Kaitlyn shouted as she stood up and realized that she was not in the darkness anymore but in a classroom with dozen pairs of eyes staring at her. And standing right in front was a red with fury Mr. Andrews.

Uh-oh, that spelt trouble for Kaitlyn as she felt her cheeks go red. She could hear the class's ferocious laughter and see her friends' hands on their forehead. She stuck out her tongue as she prepared for the worst.

"Kaitlyn Swift, detention for you!" Mr. Andrews screamed angrily as he strode out of the classroom.

Kaitlyn slouched back into her seat as she mumbled, "Great, detention."

_*********_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10:**_

"Oh, gosh, you're the best, I swear!" Tiffany said before bursting into laughter.

"You sure had the guts, telling Mr. Andrews to shut up." Sunny joined in the laughter.

"Like I said," Kaitlyn frowned, "I was dreaming."

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes as both of her friends rolled on the floor laughing. She then glanced around the classroom and realized, for the first time, that the brothers did not attend school today.

"The brothers!" Kaitlyn and stood up, banging her hands on her table, scaring her friends who are still laughing away.

"What now?" Tiffany asked while wiping away her tears.

"Brothers? You mean the Armstrong?" Sunny did the same thing.

Kaitlyn nodded, yesterday couldn't have been just her imagination right? No human could ever disappear so fast, could they?

"They will be there tomorrow, seems that they caught a cold today."

"Together?!" Sunny and I chorused in unison.

Kaitlyn thought of questioning them tomorrow but figured that it would cause a bit of a commotion thus she brushed it off. It's going to be 4 hours from now to school dismissal, which includes the detention she was suppose to attend after school.

Finally, she was released from school.

"Bye, Kaitlyn! Enjoy your detention!" Tiffany and Sunny teased.

"Detention?" Chris walked into the classroom with a puzzled look.

"I've got a detention slip for sleeping in class. Why don't you leave first?" Kaitlyn asked as she packed her stuffs.

"Nah, it's okay, I'll wait for you. What time does your detention ends?"

Kaitlyn wondered for a while before answering an 'I don't know'. Chris gave her a goodbye kiss before leaving school for home. He knew that if Kaitlyn want him to leave first, he should respect her decision.

Kaitlyn grabbed a table by the window and prepared for her detention. She noticed that there were not many people in detention today. There's a punk with many ear piercings and skull necklaces sitting in the front, sleeping and a gothic chick beside him, doing her nails. She observed the two of them as the time passed very slowly. When she finally got bored, she looked out of the window, wondering about the dream that got her into detention.

Could the fast disappearance of the Armstrong brothers got something to do with the dream? Who does Nadine wants her to beware of? She knew that the 'Felix' guy could have something to do with her dream. The voice that got her so afraid could be Felix. Does this have something to do with the 'golden darkness' she heard the brothers talked about before getting a fight? And what exactly were the powers Nadine told her about?

"Okay, detention's over." The teacher-in-charge sneaks a glance at the gothic couple before saying, "Nancy and Gray, please do not be late again, I do not want to see your face again."

Were they regulars here? Kaitlyn wondered as she chuckled softly.

"And you, the new girl here, what's your name?"

Kaitlyn had a shock, were he referring to me? "Kaitlyn, sir."

"Kaitlyn? So, you're the girl that had gotten a detention slip from Mr. Andrews for sleeping in class, am I right?"

Kaitlyn nodded.

"Please do not commit the same offences again." He said softly before dismissing everyone.

_*********_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11:**_

Meanwhile, in the dark academy…

"Curses, Nadine had already made a move." Felix muttered under his breath as he waits for his favorite disciple, Brendon to give his daily report.

Felix's ears perked up as he heard the footsteps of Brendon.

"My lord, did you call for me?"

"So, how's it going along? With the golden darkness, that is."

"It had been going great, lord, the class had planned a welcoming party for us. I'll take advantage of the chance to attack, my lord." Brendon reported obediently as he wouldn't like it if Felix blew his top.

"Good, is anyone from light academy going?"

Brendon nodded his head and mumbled a soft yes.

"Listen, Armstrong. You had to speed up your progress and the goddess of light academy had strike already. You need to get hold of Kaitlyn Swift as soon as possible, do you get me?"

Brendon didn't dare to oppose his mentor, though he did not understand how the light academy managed to attack when he was still taking care of Raye. Brendon sighed as he planned a way to get rid of Raye tomorrow.

As Brendon leaves the room, he thought back into the day of the fight. If his 'beloved' brother could dodge Brendon's attack, his level was pretty high too. But it's not like he could reject his mentor, seems like this is going to be a hassle.

**Back in the light academy,**

Nadine looked across the dark sky as she worried for the safety of Kaitlyn since Felix had already found out about their communication through her dreams. Unable to hold in her uneasiness, she requested to see her student.

"Raye," She took in a deep breath, "Double up the protection given to Kaitlyn."

Raye had to obey the goddess's words without questioning, though he badly wanted to ask why. As he was about to dismiss himself from the goddess's sight, he thought he saw a tear rolling down her cheeks.

_*********_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12:**_

"Ding-dong," The doorbell echoed through the empty house.

"Here!" Kaitlyn yelled as she clumsily slipped in her left heeled slippers. She hoped one-legged towards the door and opened the front door, facing Chris who dressed in plain tee and loose jeans. "Hello." Chris grinned, revealing his charming white tooth.

"Hi." Kaitlyn's rosy cheeks went red, looking at Chris's casual clothes made Kaitlyn felt uncomfortable in her summer dress, revealing her bare arms. "Are you ready to go?"

Kaitlyn shook her head, "Hold on, I need to change." But Chris caught her by her arm and pulled Kaitlyn back, "You do not need to change, you're beautiful as you are now." Kaitlyn almost felt herself fainting at Chris's sweet talks. Chris held onto Kaitlyn's hands as they walked towards their destination, smiling. Sunny and Tiffany whistled as they saw their best friend getting lovey-dovey with her boyfriend. Chris gripped tightly onto Kaitlyn's hands, as if Kaitlyn is going to slip away from him. Kaitlyn laughed nervously when she noticed the brothers closing in.

All the girls gaped at their beauty. Brendon was wearing a black jacket over a dark gray tee with black jeans, looking as dark and gloomy as his aura, which is very much different from Raye who was wearing a white collar tee which hang out from his white pants. Kaitlyn squirmed uneasily as the brothers approached them.

"Okay, everyone's here," Sunny announced cheerfully as we entered the lounge with complete set of facilities. "Now this is what I call good service!"

Minutes passed slowly as the brothers rejected all the offers of singing. Sunny sang some of Britney Spears's song using her famous chipmunk's voice which made the class roared into laughter. Kaitlyn's thoughts drifted away from the reality.

Kaitlyn found herself back to the peaceful land she had been before. "Nadine?"

Kaitlyn shifted her position nervously. She wanted to meet the goddess again, and to clarify things with her. But no, instead of encountering with the goddess, certain images started forming around her. Nostalgic pictures of her past reminded Kaitlyn of her deceased mother. She froze when she saw an unfamiliar picture of her and two other guys around her age. The photo was burned and a hole hid the two guys' face.

Kaitlyn took a step back, but the images seemed to follow her wherever she went. "The images are important, remember them!" A small voice said in her mind. "No," Kaitlyn murmured in agony, as an excruciating pain pierce through her mind.

"Kaitlyn, Kaitlyn, wake up!" Chris's violent shaking woke her up. "Are you okay?"

Kaitlyn noticed that the whole class was all surrounding her, worried expression hung on everyone's face. "Ye… yeah. What happened?"

"You were sleeping peacefully one moment, the other moment you was shouting no and waving your hands. A nightmare? Do you want me to bring you home?" Kaitlyn accepted Chris's offer which she usually wouldn't.

Surprisingly, Brendon stepped in. "I'll send her home, I have a car."

Chris rejected, "No, I'm her boyfriend." Despite many arguments, Chris still insisted on bringing her home. Kaitlyn's head throbbed in pain as the arguments continued. "Stop, I'll take Brendon's car. Chris, why don't you head home first if you feel uncomfortable?" And Chris reluctantly gave in.

**Meanwhile in Dark academy,**

A smirk flashed upon Felix' smug face, "I've found it, I've found Golden Darkness's weakness. Just you wait, Nadine." He laughed an evil laugh that shook the whole academy, a laugh to indicate his victory.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13:**_

Brendon sighed; he had no idea why did his mentor want him to bring her home. He can never understand his mentor's decision, but yet, he does not dare to ask. Looking at the helpless girl sleeping at the front seat, he couldn't help but think she's stupid. Following a guy she had just known for weeks.

He was really glad that his 'beloved' brother did not follow along, since they had sneaked out when he was in the toilet, most probably contacting the goddess.

"Bam!" The wheels sounded. The car skidded out of the road and Kaitlyn woke up. Brendon turned his head sharply out of the windows and saw a few guys dressed in black snickering. "Dark academy's students." He mumbled. Must have be Felix's doing, he convinced himself.

"Brendon, are you okay?" Kaitlyn voice took Brendon's attention from the academy students.

"Um, yeah." Brendon was stunned that she had even asked that. Brendon shook his head lightly, "Let me walk you home, you mind?"

"I don't mind, my house is round the corner, but it's still pretty far." Kaitlyn nodded, and they got off the car together. Brendon shifted awkwardly as they strolled towards her house. It wasn't her that made him nervous, but how strangely familiar the place is to him.

"My house is just around the corner, I can go-" Kaitlyn finally spoke.

"I will leave once I've seen you home safely." Brendon growled unwillingly. The closer they got towards her house, the more nervous he got.

"How are _you_ going to go home?"

"No idea." Every step he took made his heart go 'thump'. "No, wait, thump?" Brendon thought, his heart is dead, he is dead, and so is his brother. It's because he is dead, thus they have entered the academy years ago.

"-don?" A violent shook woke him up from his wild thoughts, "Brendon!"

"What?" He snapped.

"I've reached."

"Oh, okay." Brendon looked up and saw a house as what he had expected. White-painted and a little of orange lines, the garden is filled with colorful flowers and a small pine tree which made the small house stood out among all the others.

A sudden breeze of cold wind blew from the East; it's an indication from Felix to tell Brendon to look to the right. Brendon reluctantly, but obediently, turned to his right. There was a row of other houses, but one specially caught Brendon's attention, it was old and yellow, but he could see it was originally white. Part of the house is burnt, and the garden is filled with weeds, like it has not been weeded for years. There stood another pine tree that has already withered, and the pipes have already turned rusty.

"That house…?"

Kaitlyn turned towards Brendon's direction of sight, "Oh, that house? Part of the house was burnt down a few years bac-" Kaitlyn stared at Brendon with her eyes widened with shock. "Brendon?"

Brendon felt a gush of blood rushed up to his head, making the world spin around him. No, this is wrong, he's not supposed to feel this way. A sharp pain throbbed against his chest as his hand clutched on his chest. A strong breeze blew past him, pulling him away.

"Brendon?!" Kaitlyn was yelling, but Brendon couldn't hear anything. The world around him was silent, he couldn't hear anything but his own screams. Brendon turned his head around and saw a black portal pulling him in. He struggled to stay away from the black portal but it was useless. He was sucked in.

"Pulse?" He heard a guy's voice asking in the black portal.

"More than average, doctor!" Another female voice was heard.

"Contact Mr. Swift immediately!" Brendon could hear clacking of metal trays in the darkness.

The beeping sound of a machine, the clacking of metal trays, doctors had told Brendon that he's in the hospital.

"His brother?"

"No stirring, pulse normal-!" The nurse paused, "Doctor! Patient's blood pressure is decreasing!"

"Call for Dr. Steven, quick!"

Brendon could hear sirens from the background, he knew what happened is chaos, but all he could see was darkness, darkness, and darkness. Nothing much, is this the scene of his death? He wondered.

"Armstrong!" Brendon tensed as he heard his mentor's voice, "Armstrong!"

A sudden jolt brought Brendon back to his mentor's library. He saw his mentor and the other two students staring at him. He sat up abruptly, "My lord!" He exclaimed.

His mentor smirked at him, "Good job, Brendon, I've found the answer. Rest for the day, do not go anywhere until you feel that you've rest enough." Brendon glanced at the two students and his mentor suspiciously while walking towards the dorm of the academy.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14:**_

Kaitlyn stared at her friends, "It wasn't Brendon who sent me home?"

"No! Oh, god, how many times do we have to tell you this? It was us who brought you home. You're so drunk that you don't remember?!" Tiffany frowned. "Brendon wasn't even there at the party yesterday. He's sick and only Raye turned up!"

"No, wait. I'm pretty sure-"

"Could you be dreaming?" Sunny commented.

It could be, but Kaitlyn was very sure that Brendon had faded away right in front of her eyes, literally faded away. It was originally his arms and legs and soon, he just totally disappeared into thin air. Was she really drunk?

"Good morning," Raye greeted the girls.

"Brendon?" Kaitlyn wanted to make sure of this herself.

"He's still quite sick, from yesterday."

No, it can't be, Kaitlyn remembered everything vividly, it couldn't be her dreams, could it? The images of her first nightmare remains in her mind, the dream of Nadine, the fading away, what's happening to her?

"Get back to your seats, Sunny and Tiffany," the world's most annoying English-literature teacher entered the classroom at the wrong timing.

Tiffany rolled her eyes, "Yes, sir."

Kaitlyn spent the rest of the English-literature class to think while her other classmates were busy taking down notes. "Ms. Swift, would you stop dreaming about your prince on a white horse and answer my question?"

"Pardon me, sir?" Kaitlyn asked politely.

Howard sighed, "What are the two most famous works of William Shakespeare?"

"Romeo and Juliet, and… and…" Kaitlyn racked her brains and looked around the class.

"Hamlet." Raye mouthed.

"Hamlet?"

"Yes, correct. Such an easy question took you long enough to answer, Ms. Swift, I would be glad if you could take out your notebook at least?" Howard frowned.

Kaitlyn glared at him and lifted her notebook on the table, "_I have it_ _on my table, _sir." Kaitlyn exclaimed with obvious irritation in her voice. The teacher jeered at Kaitlyn and went back to his teachings. Kaitlyn stared at the clock above the board, "I wish that would just drop on his head." Kaitlyn mumbled jokingly.

Kaitlyn felt a strong wind that seemed to push her backwards. The clock above Howard's head shook violently and dropped directly above the teacher's head. The class, even Kaitlyn, gasped in shock. A loud sound was heard when the clock came in contact with Howard's head. The clock and Howard fell onto the ground at the same time, blood flowed down Howard's head and the class was in complete chaos. Girls running around, screaming, guys yelling, the noise is giving Kaitlyn a great headache.

"It's just a coincidence, isn't it?" Kaitlyn told herself, as her fingers trembled. She was only joking; she didn't really mean the clock to really drop on his head.

After Howard was admitted to the hospital, the class was given self-study period for the rest of the day. Kaitlyn could not concentrate on anything she's doing; the clock really _did _fall on his head after she said it.

"For once, I really pitied that teacher." Tiffany and Sunny came over to Kaitlyn's table as usual. Sunny nodded in agreement. "Kaitlyn, what's wrong? You look damn pale. Oh god, what happened?"

"I feel sick." Kaitlyn thought up of an excuse and she's not really lying. She DOES feel sick.

"Would you like to take early leave? Not like we're going to have any lessons after this." Kaitlyn nodded.

Kaitlyn limped to the sick bay and lay on the hard mattress, "Rest here, we'll go get your stuffs and bring you home."

Kaitlyn mumbled a soft thanks. When she reached home, Klaus was there. "You're home unexpectedly early." He exclaimed as he grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge.

"I feel sick." Kaitlyn told him and retreated back to her home. She stumbled towards her bed and hugged the photo of her mom. She hadn't done that for a very long time, but she couldn't take it this time. "Mom," Kaitlyn cried her eyes out. "What is this happening? I'm scared."

A soft knock was heard, and followed by Aunt Pamela's voice, "Kaitlyn, are you alright? Klaus said you had taken early leave because you're not feeling well."

"I'm alright," Kaitlyn sniffed, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

"Kaitlyn, you mind if I come in?" Aunt Pamela creak opened a small part of the door, but Kaitlyn do not want her aunt to see her crying.

"Aunt Pamela," She paused, "Can you please leave me alone?"

There was a long silence before Kaitlyn heard her aunt's footstep leaving the area. Kaitlyn could feel a prick on her conscience but she needed to be alone. "Sorry, Aunt Pamela." Kaitlyn murmured and slammed herself on the bed and drifted off to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15:**_

Kaitlyn entered her class filled with chattering. "What happened?"

"It seems that the Howard came back to school today!" A random student answered Kaitlyn question.

Kaitlyn returned to her seat, the seat next to her left is empty again. "Oh god, is he serious? He's going to…" Tiffany paused and cleared her throat, "You see, even though I'm badly injured, I still come back and teach you idiots, where can you find such a good teacher? So do not take advantage of my kindness and please do your work." She mimicked and the whole class roared into laughter, even Kaitlyn chuckled softly.

"Mind to share the joke, Ms. Britney?" Speaking of the devil, Howard strode into the classroom with his chin up. His head was bandaged and when he smiles, two of his front teeth were missing. It must have dropped when he slammed down on the floor.

"No, sir, but as a concern student, I would recommend you to stay at home to rest, sir." Tiffany joked sarcastically.

But the teacher took the joke seriously, "Oh, thank you, but I would very much appreciate it if you go back to your seat, darling." Kaitlyn could feel her hair standing at her teacher's words.

After greetings, Howard started self-complimenting himself, "Kids, look here, I had took a special trip back to school even though I'm supposed to be resting at home. Shouldn't you idiots be glad? Where can you even find such a wonderful teacher who will come back even though he's badly injured?"

I glanced at Tiffany who gave me a slight wink, "I told you so."

After a whole hour, English-literature was finally over. "Where can you even find such an annoying teacher?" Tiffany yelled.

"Right in this school!" The whole class roared.

"Hello?" A soft familiar voice entered the room, "Is Kaitlyn here?"

"Looking for your sweetheart, Chris, there she is!"

Chris glanced over to Kaitlyn and gestured for her to come out. His fingers entwined with hers as they walked to the cafeteria together. "You okay? You seemed to be taking a lot of early leaves nowadays."

"I'm alright, don't worry." Kaitlyn smiled.

Chris bended forward and gave Kaitlyn a peck on her cheek, "I'm glad you're okay." Chris looked away. Kaitlyn could feel her cheeks burning.

"Ms. Kaitlyn Swift and Mr. Christopher Kidney," Howard's voice scared them out of their wits. "Would you please refrain from making out in the public? It's humiliating and could hurt our school reputation."

Kaitlyn immediately let go of Chris's hand and apologized. "Sir, we're sor-!" From behind of Howard, Kaitlyn caught a glimpse of Brendon; she stopped for a brief moment. "Brendon?" she took a step forward before running, "Brendon!"

"Wait, Kat!" Chris yelled after Kaitlyn.

"I'm sorry, Chris, I'll see you later!" Kaitlyn waved backwards.

By the time she turned at the corner, she had lost Brendon. The bell echoed around the school, telling students to go back to their classes. Kaitlyn reluctantly dragged her feet back to her classroom; she wanted to know the truth. Was she sober or drunk at that time? Was she really dreaming? She wanted to know!

The next period was self-study because the mathematics teacher was absent and it was a good thing for Kaitlyn, she's not in any condition to study. "Kaitlyn, what were you and Chris doing during lunch break?" Tiffany came over

"Nothing," I mumbled and it's the truth.

"Don't lie, but good for you, having a boyfriend, I wish I have one as loving as Chris." Tiffany said with envy. "But I have a crush on a guy," Tiffany blushed, "It's Rob." She whispered softly.

This news was water to Kaitlyn's ears. She had never thought that Tiffany would have a crush, what's more on Robert. Robert was, and is, Tiffany's childhood friend. As far as Kaitlyn could remember, Tiffany and Robert were always together, though always arguing. Kaitlyn thought Robert would be Tiffany's last person to have a crush on. Robert is cute, except for that untidy hair of his. "I thought your latest crush was on the basketball senior?"

"Well, yes. That was the past, I have a crush on Rob for quite some time ago, just that, I'm shy." Kaitlyn would never think that Tiffany will be shy. "What about you, Sunny? You have a crush on a guy too, don't you?"

Sunny's cheeks blushed a scarlet red. "I do, but he's attached." Kaitlyn thought she saw Sunny glancing in her direction.

"Snatch him away from his girl then!" Tiffany yelled, "I believe Sun, with her cute charm, can do it."

Kaitlyn felt uncomfortable with Tiffany's sentence, and Sunny's guilty look. She, as a girl with a cute boyfriend, could somehow understand how the girl would have felt if her boyfriend was stolen. Kaitlyn tried to imagine what if her beloved boyfriend chose another girl and abandoned her, how would she feel? She has a really uneasy feeling in her guts.

"Tiff, that's… that's wrong." Kaitlyn stuttered.

"I'm just kidding! Sunny is such an innocent girl, she wouldn't dare to even confess to the guy." Obvious hurt was expressed on Sunny's face and tears started to form in Sunny's crystal eyes. Kaitlyn stared at Sunny, her words of comfort was stuck in her throat.

Once Tiffany saw the tears in Sunny's eyes, she started fluttering, "Sun! I didn't mean to-" She stopped short, "I'm sorry."

"No," Sunny wiped off her tears, everyone in class was eyeing us and whispering among themselves, "I… It's just that, I feel so useless, it's just like what Tiff says, I don't even dare confessing."

Kaitlyn gave Sunny a bear hug, "Sun, you're not useless, without you, my life is not complete."

Tiffany joined in the group hug, and the three of them giggled. "Thanks, guys."

"That's what friends are for!" Tiffany and Kaitlyn chorused in unison.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16:**_

It was the dreaded chemistry class and Kaitlyn felt lonely. She has never communicated well with her chemistry classmates, and Tiffany and Sunny was in the biology class. "Today, we're going to try out different chemicals. On each table, there are different types of chemicals for you to try with, but the silver nitrate is dangerous and can cause an explosion at 165 degree Celsius. So I want you kids to beware with the silver Nitrate."

Kaitlyn could felt herself dozing off at her teacher's instructions. "Do you mind?" Raye's voice brought her back before she could slip to wonderland. "Nope, go ahead." Raye took the seat next to Kaitlyn, and began examining the different types of chemicals.

Kaitlyn sighed heavily and joined him for his experiments. As they were trying out different experiments, through Kaitlyn's sleepy eyes, she caught sight of a suspicious man wearing a black coat, though his eyes were covered, Kaitlyn could sense the evil powers emitting from them. In a blink of her eyes, the man was gone. She rubbed her eyes, but brushed it off as she thought she was probably dreaming. The security of her school was quite tight, no one wearing like that could ever enter the school premises.

"Hold on, I need to get to the restroom." Raye smiled nervously, and his eyes never left the place where Kaitlyn saw the man.

"Oh, okay." Kaitlyn mumbled, pretending not to look up from her experiments. Could he have seen the man too? Kaitlyn picked up the beaker nearest to her, "Silver Nitrate," She stared at it for a moment and paused. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Kaitlyn felt someone staring right at her, and she looked up. Once again, the suspicious man appeared. Holding up his palm that faced her, "Felix!" she heard a loud yell, and she caught glimpse of the blinding light that was forming in his palm.

Kaitlyn quickly ducked as the light formed became a huge fireball that aimed directly at her. She threw the Silver Nitrate aside and fell flat on the ground. A huge explosion followed behind, and a spark of the solution landed on her leg, Kaitlyn groaned in pain.

Through the chaos happening in the lab, she saw the man, through her tears, scrambling out of the room. She wanted to chase after the man, but the pain in her legs stopped her. She grabbed tightly on her thigh, hoping to numb the pain.

"Teacher, someone here is injured!" a student yelled.

Kaitlyn's chemistry teacher hurried to her side. "Are you feeling okay?"

"It's painful." Kaitlyn felt herself losing conscious soon.

"Bring her to the infirmary, it is just a minor burn." She heard her teacher's order. Kaitlyn relaxes as someone carried her up.

"You should have pay attention when I give the instructions, Ms. Kaitlyn Swift." Kaitlyn was reprimanded when she woke up. "I would not blame you, because according to your partner, a suspicious man manages to trespass into the premises and put the solution on the burner." Her teacher said each word carefully, but not convinced. Kaitlyn understood why the teacher wasn't convinced, she wouldn't too if she wasn't the victim.

Kaitlyn looked down at her leg that was bandaged like a mummy. She could see some blood patches on the snow-white bandage. She ran her fingers softly over it, but just a soft touch could send Kaitlyn into agonizing pain that she tear up a little.

"Rest well until you're completely healed, Kaitlyn," Her teacher stood up, "I do not want this to repeat again, treat that as a lesson learnt. It should not hurt a lot, Silver Nitrate is not poisonous, so you should be fine. But if it really hurts, my advice is to visit a doctor."

"Yes." With a click, Kaitlyn was left alone. She could not believed her luck, just how many accidents must she get into before she's happy? She thought for a moment, what was that? No matter how she thinks, a normal human being can't summon a fireball from his palm! Just what was that?


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17:**_

"Out of my way!" Raye yelled as he returned hastily back to his Goddess's chamber.

"Welcome back, the bronze darkness, the personal knight of our god-" Raye waved his hands and the doorman was flung off. He slammed open the door and immediately kneeled down before his goddess.

"Oh, Raye!" The goddess exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, that's quite a temper, now relax and tell me what brought you back to the academy? I was pretty sure that I gave you a mission to protect the golden darkn-"

"The dark academy's lord has attacked, personally, my lady." Raye cut her sentence.

"What happened?" The goddess demanded. Raye spilt every truth out. "I saw him, and excused myself, knowing very well what he was trying to do. However, I lost him midway. When I saw him again, he had summoned his fire to aid him in his evil ways. He aimed his fire directly at the golden darkness, who was holding an explosive chemical. And when he fired, I managed to push him down. Thus, he only managed to hit the chemical, which exploded. The golden darkness was saved with just a minor burn."

Raye beamed with pride as he thought how he saved Kaitlyn before the fire directly hits her, he was waiting for praise from the goddess. "What chemical was that?"

"Silver Nitrate?" Raye answered hesitantly. What does this got to do with anything?

"This is bad, this is very bad!" The goddess's voice got louder that the glass cracked.

"My lady?"

"Raye, you have fallen into his trap. His plan was to let you push him in the very beginning." Raye was confused. The goddess took in deep breath, and exhaled, "To the mortals, Silver Nitrate is just an explosive chemical, but to us, it's a solution that awakened the power within oneself. Remember the black solution I demanded you to drink when I declared you the bronze darkness?"

Raye nodded, his memories came back to him.

"That is a Silver Nitrate solution mixed with a teeny bit of Ambrosia and other solution." The goddess sighed heavily.

Raye finally understood, "But, she did not drink it, she was burnt by it."

"Raye, as long as the solution touches the blood of a mortal who is a darkness, it awakens their powers. That was Felix's plan all along. He cannot attack the darkness with his powers; the golden darkness will be able to retract his powers." Raye understood the grave mistake he had made, and was ashamed of it, that was no wonder the lord of the dark academy smirked when he pushes him down. Raye excused himself politely, as he walked down the hallway, many bowed to him with respect, and he nodded in return. Raye's thought wandered back when he was declared as the bronze darkness, the knight of the goddess herself.

"Drink this!" The maidens yelled jealously.

"No!" Raye pouted, and looked away.

One of the maidens grabbed hold of his hands, and the other grabbed hold of his legs, and the last one forcefully made him drink down the solution. But Raye, as a little kid, shook his head violently. "No, no, no, no, no!" Tears were forming.

"Brat, don't you know just how lucky you are?! Many of us hoped to become the bronze darkness but failed, so just drink it!" The older one chided him.

At this time, the goddess entered, and everyone, including Raye bowed. "Maidens." Her soothing voice soothe the heart of the rest, "I'll take care of this. Leave us." The maidens left obediently.

Raye glanced up at the goddess, blushing at her beauty, back then, he has already fallen deeply in love with her. "Raye, drink this, it's to bless you, and make you a higher rank." The goddess's words warm him and make him feel protected. Obediently, he drank it.

Raye chuckled softly. He was really childish back then. But as years fly passed, he grew more matured and was more aware of his own responsibilities. Raye stopped dead in his tracks. He remembered something really important.

If that solution contained a little of mixed Silver Nitrate, what about PURE Silver Nitrate? Raye will never forget the pain that almost made him wished that he was dead, if he wasn't already. After an hour when he consumed the solution, the goddess left the room, leaving him alone and no one was to enter. The torture began.

Something seemed to be eating into his flesh, burning him on the inside yet, freezing him. The pain was beyond bearable, it was so awful that he was screaming practically every second. His intestines were burning, and his skin seems to be rotting. Every muscle in his body felt like it's been torn up and a piercing pain throbbed against his head like his brain will explode any moment. The sight of food makes him wants to throw up. He can't fall asleep and the pain is torturing him. When the pain ceased for a minute, his muscles turned sore, and his body would go numb. Within a minute, the pain will come back. After every ceasing, the pain inflicted increases.

That pain almost made Raye regretted making the decision of drinking the solution and it almost made Raye wanted to tear himself apart and kill himself. That suffering was not what a normal mortal can endure. He could never manage to compare this pain to the pain of any other. If he's to choose between, cutting up his skin without injecting the antiseptic or the Silver Nitrate torture, he would choose the cutting up of his skin.

"This is bad," Raye told himself as he charged towards the portal that will lead him to the school.

"INTRUDERS!" The alarm went off, warriors and knight armed themselves with horrid weapons that will not harm a mortal, and wizards, mages and magician prepared their magic cloak and flying pets ran towards the direction of the portal.

"Sorry," He mumbled to the students and he ran off towards the emergency portal that was specially made for situations like this. He believed that the intruders were referring to the Dark Academy students, and that could be bad, but this is worst. "Just hold on for a while, I will be back soon." He hoped as he zoomed past the students at lightning speed.

Raye came to a sudden halt before the portal. "Just where do you think you are going, brother?" He spotted his brother standing at the emergency portal.

"Step aside, brother," Raye ordered with his voice full of confidence, "I do not want to fight with you now, you will regret it." He figured out that both their powers are equal.

His brother laughed aloud, throwing his head back before he kept his poise again, "You make it sound like I would lose, brother. I love that voice, full of confidence and determination. But let's see if you still can keep that up, after we fight." After he finished his sentence, hundreds of dark academy's students surrounded Raye. He's definitely outnumbered, and for a second there, he lost the confidence…


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18:**_

The ground beneath Raye exploded and he dodged it, just barely. A few centimeters more and it would have struck him. Brendon stood on the top of a high rock, sniggering at the defeat of Raye.

"You low-life!" Raye groaned.

Brendon laughed, "Look around us, there's no life in this World."

"Why are you," He paused and took in a deep breath, "doing this?"

"That is none of your business." Brendon snapped, commanding the dark students to continue attacking. Raye has brought down hundreds of students, but thousands just continue to appear. "There's never-ending to this if this continues." He dodged an incoming flame.

"Raye!" A voice whom Raye recognizes called out to him, and it's a voice that he does not, for the first time, want to hear.

A stronger power from the goddess gave a striking blow, Brendon and the dark students flew around. "Are you alright?" The goddess knelt beside the injured Raye, and he nodded, "My lady, the battlefield is no place for you." As a knight, he has to protect her.

"Nadine," The dark academy lord stepped out from behind of his disciple. "What a wonderful scene, sister, but I'm afraid I will have to destroy that." Felix grinned.

He sent the aid of a minor hurricane and blew the goddess away from Raye. He watched in horror as the goddess he loved was caught in that minor hurricane. "No!" He yelled as he hurled a thunderbolt from across the sky that strikes Felix on the hand. Felix stopped the hurricane and Nadine fell from a great height, but still surviving.

"My lady!" Raye stood up despite his weak knees and rushed over to aid his helpless goddess.

Felix chuckled, "That thunderbolt is not enough to hurt me, brat. It just feels like a spark of a fire that rubbed on my hand. You and I, the powers range is just too great for you to hurt me."

Raye glared at the dark lord and Brendon who looked just as smug. Raye position himself, and was about to summon a ray of bright light that could blind the creature of the dark when a sharp shriek was heard from across the crimson sky which separates the day and the night. The delicate goddess blinked her eyes, "It's too late."

Raye knew it all too well, the shriek belongs to Kaitlyn, the Silver Nitrate had started working. He shut his eyes and cleared his mind. He had decided and he had made up his mind. "I will not let you get her." He mumbled softly.

Felix laughed, Brendon laughed to entertain his mentor too, "You said something?"

"I. Will. Not. Let. You. Get. The. Golden. Darkness." He picked each word carefully and convincing. As he said the word, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, a thunder strike down and hits the ground. Sizzling, Raye could make out the mark left by the thunder. The mark of the Gods. He was recognized!

Raye's eyes light up with delight as he awaits praises from his goddess who just smile sadly at him. Brendon glared at Raye, enviously. Felix grinned, "Interesting, the Gods' mark." He then waved his hands, "Our mission here is complete, retreat!" With that, all of them disappeared.

**After their retreat, Dark academy,**

The Gods recognized Raye, is that a good or a bad thing? Brendon wondered as he followed his unusually cheerful mentor back to his chamber and he shuts the door behind him.

"My Lord," Brendon bowed respectfully, "I'm-"

"You've done well, my disciple, you have not let me down."

"But…!" Brendon wanted to argue and protest.

"Being recognized by the Gods may not necessary be a good thing," Felix smirked, "They will not aid you and, should that Bronze Darkness fall during a battle or fail his mission; the Gods will punish his soul eternally."

"And should he succeed?"

"I have no idea." Felix admitted, "None have ever succeeded in a Gods' mission. None."

Brendon can't help but feel a little glad that none has ever succeed, and Raye will definitely not be the one. Brendon smiled as he dismissed himself from the sight of his mentor.

"Monitor the Bronze Darkness from the light academy, Brendon," Felix's last order, "And destroy him if there is a must. But try and leave him alive, things will turn interesting. Of course not to forget, our sweet Kaitlyn Swift, our Golden Darkness, monitor her condition too, should anything goes wrong, contact me immediately."

"Your wish is my command, sir." Brendon bowed one last time and he shut the grand chamber door softly.

**{A/N: This is a MAJOR mistake on my part. A missing chapter! I AM SORRY FOR THE JUMBLE-UP! FORGIVE ME! This is the real chapter 18. Enjoy. I messed up big, I know. And I am majorly sorry!}**


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19:**_

Klaus watched as his sister's loud shriek pierced through the silent night. He could feel his heart breaking, literally. Kaitlyn's nails dug deeply into his arm, yet despite his pain, he ruffled his sister's silky hair with understanding. He knew that his sister is undergoing a torture much worse than his.

After hours of shrieking, Kaitlyn settled down peacefully. This has been going on for days since her chemistry teacher told their dad about the silver nitrate. It is not normal for her to undergo such painful experiences through a single drop of Silver Nitrate.

"We must get her to the hospital!" Klaus cried to the worried couple. Pamela's face looked worried, but Klaus could only tell that it is fake concern.

"We mustn't move her." Pamela cried.

"What do you know!" Klaus snapped as his sister went shrieking after not more than a minute, and the pain seems to increase. "Everything is going to okay, Kaitlyn, I will be here." He stroked her hair.

"Trust me, I-"

"Yeah, right, trust you after you killed my mother!" Klaus yelled with voice full of irritation.

Pamela took aback with surprise, covering her mouth as if controlling her tears. "Enough, Klaus, that's no way to treat your mother."

"AHH!" Kaitlyn screamed louder.

"She is no mother of mine, my mother is dead!" Klaus's face frowned in pain as Kaitlyn dug her nails in further.

"Klaus!"

"Enough, Kaitlyn is suffering here! The last thing we need is for you guys to fight!" Pamela yelled as she come closer to Kaitlyn. However, she stepped back as Klaus flinched and prepared to move Kaitlyn away if Pamela come any closer. "I'll call for the ambulance," she sighed as hurt flashed across her face. "The paramedics should know what to do with her."

Of course, the ambulance came within a few minutes. They examined her, but Klaus refused to let her go. He's afraid of losing another of his loved one. "We may need to bring her to the hospital for further examinations." One of the paramedics shook his head.

Blood seemed to drain from his face. "Will she be okay?" He felt his voice shaking. Please, please let her be okay! Please, please!

"We are not sure, we have not come across such a case." He frowned. The paramedics were fast on their feet. It was like only a few seconds and Klaus stared as her sister was brought to the hospital. Klaus's father went along with them and the house was left with only Pamela and Klaus.

"Klaus, I know you're exhausted, how about going back to bed?" Pamela suggested softly.

Klaus stared at her as if she suggested something crazy. He strode out of his house and slammed the door behind him, ignoring his stepmom's calls for him. That's no way that he'll stay alone in that house with her, not when she killed his real mother and stole his father. He kicked the nearby garbage can, toppling it down and all the garbage rats running in all directions.

Klaus stumbled down on the ground. "Kaitlyn…" He cried into the pit blackness, leaving his voice to echo in the dark alley. It was only hours later before he returned home. Klaus shut the door behind him quietly when he saw the kitchen dimly lighted. He knew that woman was still awake and do not want to draw unwanted, and disgusting, attention to himself.

"Klaus, you're back?"

Klaus cursed under his breath, "What do you want?" He growled with his back facing the woman he would never want to be alone with. Klaus took a step forward when Pamela did not reply him.

"Your father called, the doctors could not find anything wrong with Kaitlyn so they want Kaitlyn to stay at the hospital for observation." She paused, "So where did you go?"

Klaus nodded, "It's none of your business as to where I go, do not act like you're my mother."

"I'm still your step-!"

"So what? You're asking me to recognize a woman who murdered my mother and stole my father? Oh, please!" Klaus regretted his words the moment it exited his mouth. As much as he hates that woman, this is still too… Unable to hold it in, Klaus paced up and ran back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20:**_

Despite her pain, Kaitlyn knew exactly what was going on at her house just now. She hated the way her brother screamed at her stepmother, she hated how useless she was while they were fighting, she hated the fact that she have to lie down here and screamed crazily and could do nothing to help stop the fight.

Kaitlyn could finally get some sleep, although she knew that the pace would end in a minute time, but she enjoyed it. Exhaustion took its toll on Kaitlyn; she fell asleep before checking if Klaus was there with her.

"Kaitlyn…"

Kaitlyn paused, can't she even have peace when sleeping? She chose to shut herself out from everything and plunged into darkness and silence, her dreamless dream.

"It was only I who can help you stop the torturing."

"What?" Kaitlyn hesitated, there's hope!

"Tonight, on a full moon during midnight, whisper '_Amplexus obscurum of luna , Tabellae cruciatus terminus in is plenus luna_.'"

"Who are you? Why should I trust you?"

"It's your choice to trust me or not. I come to you because of your need for help. You called for me…" Kaitlyn wondered if she imagined it says '_your negative darkness called for me…' _

"Why would you want to-?" Before Kaitlyn could get the words out of her mouth, a scream brought her back to reality. From her partially open eyes, she could see the dark sky outside.

"AH!" She screams louder, tears escaping her tear bud.

"Again?" Kaitlyn heard a voice in spite of her own loud and piercing screams. "That new patient had been screaming non-stop since she arrived here yesterday night, it's disturbing everyone."

"Aw, come on!" She heard another voice, "It wasn't her fault. I think her case was unknown to everyone, she was burnt by Silver Nitrate, but nobody had a case like this before with Silver Nitrate…"

"That's mysterious, Feenix, I admire your courage to take care of her." The first voice teased.

"That's because it's my job," the voice became louder as the nurse, Feenix, approached Kaitlyn who thought that there's another meaning to her job. "Come on, honey, let's wipe off your sweat."

Kaitlyn panted. The pain had stopped for a moment, but it won't be for long. Is she bothering the other patients' rest? "What…" Kaitlyn panted.

"Yes, honey?"

"What time is it now?" Kaitlyn breathed hardly.

"Almost eleven, honey, why?"

"Nothing…" Kaitlyn mumbled. There is one more hour to twelve midnight, one more hour. She has just one more hour, enough time for her to decide.

"Kaitlyn?" She heard Klaus's voice and a sense of relief took her anxiousness away from her. Kaitlyn also heard the Feenix excusing herself from the ward. Klaus has been speaking to her, but she couldn't reply. Every once a while, she will grab hold to Klaus's hand to let him know that she was listening, in spite of the pain burning in her.

A soft knock was heard, Kaitlyn caught a glimpse of Aunt Pamela and her father. She felt Klaus's hands tensed up, and was trembling with anger. "Dad." He acknowledged.

"Are you partially blind or did you do that on purpose, Klaus?" Her father was trying very hard to control his anger.

Klaus stayed silent.

"Klaus!"

"Stop!" Aunt Pamela's voice joined in, hoarse from crying. "This is the hospital, Kaitlyn is lying there, screaming in pain, so stop it…" Her voice trailed off before she sobbed.

"Shut up." Klaus mumbled, but her father heard that.

A loud sound of slapping was heard, Kaitlyn knew exactly what happened: Her father slapped her brother. There was silence, very long silence. Kaitlyn tried very hard to muffled her screams that was about to burst through her throat and explode out into the intense atmosphere. No one talked, it seems like time had froze.

"You…" Kaitlyn could hear the hurt in Klaus's voice, "You slapped me."

"You're going way too out of the line, Klaus." Her father hissed harshly.

"You had never slap me before," His voice came out as a whisper, until it gradually gets louder, "You had never slap me before, and yet, because of this woman… because of this woman…"

Kaitlyn felt her eyes burning; she couldn't do anything but scream when her brother needs her most. "_Amplexus obscurum of luna , Tabellae cruciatus terminus in is plenus luna_." It came out as a very soft whisper, but she managed to avert her brother's attention back to her.

"_Amplexus obscurum of luna , Tabellae cruciatus terminus in is plenus luna_." This time, she manages to make it sounded like a command, and at the exact moment, the clock strikes twelve.

That was a magical moment going on within Kaitlyn. She could feel as if her World light up, she smell sweet scent of flowers surrounding her, the cool breeze of the wind brush against her skin, the feeling of grass tickling her ankle. A taste she found it familiar, her favorite season, it is the taste of summer.

"Kaitlyn!" She heard Klaus's voice full of worry. She wanted to assure him, but she did not have the energy. The sickly scent of flower numbed her, blurred her vision, plunging her into darkness, just seconds after she thought she saw her nurse's eyes turned a beautiful dark red.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21:**_

Raye scrambled hurriedly to his goddess's side. "Are you sure you do not need anything else?"

"Raye," The goddess frowned, "I need some time alone, please."

Raye took a small step forward towards the chamber door, obediently yet unwillingly. He heard the goddess taking in a small deep breath, hastily, he rushed to her side, "yes?"

"I did not call for you." The goddess looked puzzled, but there was an obvious irritation to her voice, "Raye, you're being over-protective. Even a goddess needs her time to rest and be alone."

"Even a goddess needs her time to rest and be alone, Raye…" Nadine shuts her eyes calmly, her body relaxed.

Raye wanted to argue, but he knew that it will not work, the goddess is stubborn and that's what that appealed to Raye. Raye blushed at that thought. To the goddess, he is nothing but a minor knight whose job is to sacrifice his life to save her. There are many other knights, like him, are totally in love with the goddess, his was just a minor crush. Raye shot one more loving glance at his goddess before he shut the chamber door.

Just when he was a few feet away from the door, he heard a thunder rumbling across the sky. A crack appeared in the sky and Raye strained his eyes. "Is that his imagination?" His mind questioned him. Are his eyes playing a trick on him? As soon as he thought that, something tore the sky apart and he saw a feature with red wings flew down in the speed of lightning, literally. At that instance, the glass window in the goddess's chamber crashed open.

His knight instinct brought him forward and threw the door open, "My lady!"

Right beside his beloved goddess was a creature whispering to her ears, oblivious to Raye's interruption. It has dark red waist-length hair and the features on her face were perfect; its eyes were big and round, the same color as its hair. It looks human, yet it is obviously not, because behind her, are wings so red that it blinds him. The wings are big and so angel-like. A very warm feeling was emitting from it, wrapping him in happiness but the safety of his goddess snapped him back.

"No," The goddess's face was full of grief. "No, no, no, it can't be!"

Raye took a step forward, raising his weapon, and the creature that had finally noticed his presence glared at him. "My lady?" The creature never leave his gaze, to Raye, the creature is a menacing beauty and has considered it a threat. Raye saw his goddess's hands are trembling and knew that something is not right.

He rushed forward hastily, however, the creature was faster on its feet. Catching him off guard, it pushed Raye towards the wall, it's human elbow was pinning his neck against the wall, choking him. The creature is tense and made it known to Raye that it was also protecting the goddess. "My…" He coughed, "Lady…"

As if she was waking up from a nightmare, Nadine commanded to the creature, "Feenix, Tergum off , sit meus miles militis!"

Raye do not understand what it meant, but he knew it was an instruction for the creature to back off. He rubbed the place the creature pinned his throat on as soon as it backed off. "S…" It started talking, struggling to speak, "Kn…knight S…Sorry?" It tilted its head.

Raye nodded to show that he acknowledged the apology although the English was rather broken. Before he started speaking to his goddess, she spoke first.

"Est quis vos narro modo, verus, Feenix?"f

"Etiam, meus era, is est verus. The Golden Darkness has been suscitatio." The creature spoke.

Raye's heart skipped a beat when he heard the words, 'Golden Darkness' were mentioned. "Is there something wrong with Kaitlyn…?"

The goddess seems to be noticing his presence for the first time, "She…" She paused, "Golden Darkness had been awakened, Raye."

The World started spinning around him. Golden Darkness had been awakened. Is this his fault? He has been paying too much of his attention on his beloved goddess that he had neglected and forgotten about Kaitlyn.

"Raye, this is not your fault." As if reading his mind, the goddess assured him.

"It is." Raye muttered as his hands clenched into a tight ball of fist. "It is my fault, My lady, you placed your trust on me, and I… I betrayed it."

"Raye, you need to calm down." The goddess sighed. "Shall we all head to our own chamber and rest? Feenix must be tired too, from the flying." Feenix nodded and flew out of the crashed window immediately, Raye stood there, refused to budge. "Please, Raye."

Raye understood and left. However, he has other plans other than resting in his pathetic chamber. He headed towards the main portal to Earth. He needs to see Kaitlyn, as soon as possible.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22:**_

"Sweetheart Kait." A name that Kaitlyn long forgotten. "Kaitlyn."

An unmistakably familiar voice, Kaitlyn was sure of it, _"Mom?"_

Kaitlyn could not figure out what just happened. She remembered the fight, she remembered the hopeless condition she is in, she remembered the invocation she commanded, she remembered the red eyes of her nurse, she remember plunging into darkness and landed in this unknown yet peaceful place. She toured the place, yet every mile she walked, she seems to be walking back to where she started, Kaitlyn knew that she is walking in circles and there is no end to it.

"Yes, sweetheart." Her mom's shape is starting to form before her.

Kaitlyn felt as if she smiled, "Are you here to pick me up? Are you here to stop my screaming torture?"

"No sweetheart, your time's not up yet." Her mom's calming voice, she missed her so much.

"Why? Are you going to abandon me again?"

"Sweetheart, I would never abandon you, you knew that."

"So why didn't you end my torture and bring me back to where you are now?" She felt like running into her mom's arms and cry. So much had happened, and she has no one to rely on, now that her mom is here, why does she feel like there is nothing to say? A strange wall is separating them apart, her mom knew it, and Kaitlyn knew it.

"Sweetheart…" her voice soothing, filled with love and warmth, "are you sure you want to leave everything back there, unsolved and come along with me?"

Kaitlyn thought about her mother's words. Father, Klaus, Aunt Pamela, Tiffany, Sunny, Chris, Brendon, Raye, even Mr. Howard, could she bear leaving them behind? Without realizing, she cried. "No, no, I don't want to leave them behind. Oh, mom, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, sweetheart, you should live your life to the fullest." Her mom used the back of her hand to wipe off the tears like how she did when Kaitlyn was very young. "Come on, sit down, sweetheart. I have something I wanted to tell you, fast, I don't have much time left."

Kaitlyn sat down hastily, "What do you mean?"

"I only have a short time, Kaitlyn." For her mom to call her by her meant serious business, Kaitlyn sat up straight. "From this point onwards, your life is going to change. For the better, or worse, I have no idea."

"How do you know?"

"A prophecy, sweetheart, a prophecy has been made. However, it is confidential. I can only give you part of the details and let you decide the rest." Her mother suddenly tensed up. "From this point on, many strangers are going to enter your life, and one of them decides your fate. It is your decision to decide if he, or she, is a foe or friend. Choose wisely, follow you heart, and it will lead you to the decision. If you decided that he, or she, is a friend, trust him, or her, wholeheartedly. If you decided that he, or she, is a foe, stay away and do not trust him, or her, no matter what."

Kaitlyn is puzzled, but she decided to let her mother continue, "Also, those four friends that stay by your side are important, Kaitlyn, if any of them slips up, forgive them. However, among them, there lays a spy who work for the person who decides your fate. That spy, will eventually choose the light over the dark, so no matter what, Kaitlyn, trust all of them. Understand?"

Kaitlyn nodded. She is deep in thoughts, her four friends are…? Tiffany, and Sunny definitely, what about the other two?

"Kaitlyn!" Another familiar voice broke into her thoughts. It is definitely not her mom's. Kaitlyn looked into the sky where the voice came from, then she looked at her mom.

"Mom!" She yelled as she noticed the fading body of hers. "What's going on?"

"My time with you is up, Kaitlyn. Remember what I say, Sweetheart. I'll always be by your side even though you can't see me."

Kaitlyn reached out, hoping to catch her mom. Yet, her mom fades into golden stardust and disappears. "MOM!" Kaitlyn cried, and she found herself looking at the blurry looming figure above her.

"Kaitlyn," The same voice that broke into her dreams called, "Kaitlyn, can you hear me?"

The words were barely audible, but she could roughly make out the words. "Yes…" Her voice quivered. _"I'll always be by your side even though you can't see me…" _Her mom's last words to her, she missed her mom already.

"Kaitlyn! Why are you crying?" The blurry image formed and Aunt Pamela was still blurred because of the tears forming in Kaitlyn's eyes.

Kaitlyn did not notice that she's crying until the warm tears that roll down her cheeks.

"Doctor!" Aunt Pamela yelled, "Call the doctor!"

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter 23:**_

"How are you feeling?" Aunt Pamela gave Kaitlyn a cup of water she just filled up.

Kaitlyn took a small sip, "Fine…" She lied.

She knew she is not. Kaitlyn knew that something changed in her, something that makes her feel… stronger. Not stronger in strength or mentally, she is stronger in terms of powers. It was as if she could control the entire universe, something better than cursing clocks dropping onto people's head. Something urged her to take a long look in the mirror for any major changes; she stood up so abruptly that Aunt Pamela has to support her to prevent her from falling.

She looked at her own face and noticed something; her eyes are now of a beautiful sunny golden instead of its usual steel-gray. A stupid idea soon came into her head, what if…?

"Fire." She acted like a cartoon character with super natural powers. Does it work? No, nothing happened. Kaitlyn expected this, yet great disappointment took over. What was she really expecting? However, something did happen. Her eyes are now of a fiery red color, and not sunny golden nor steel-gray.

A crack appeared in the mirror, and it cracked into thousand of pieces that landed on the floor. Some burned up into ashes while some remain intact on the floor. Those took Kaitlyn by surprise, what happened made her rooted to the ground. Some glasses slashed her on the hand and started bleeding.

"Kaitlyn!" Aunt Pamela rushed in, "Oh dear, what happened?" Aunt Pamela reached out of Kaitlyn's hands and pulled her into safety from the shattered glasses on the ground.

"I… I don't know. It just broke." Kaitlyn hoped that's convincing enough for Aunt Pamela to believe.

"Okay, I got it." After moments of thinking, Aunt Pamela requested a change of ward, sympathizing with Kaitlyn for her extreme bad lucks. Kaitlyn lay down on her ward bed, feeling really bored. Aunt Pamela bought her a few magazines before heading off to work, and it will be quite some time before Klaus can come and visit after his school.

Hey, Kait, wat r u doing? I'll drop by with Sun l8er

A text from Tiffany makes Kaitlyn eyes lit up.

Tiff, oh, u'll be doing mi a great deed by dropping by, I'm bored to death.

Kaitlyn waited for 10 minutes for Tiffany's next reply.

Tat's gr8, I hav tons of hw for u 2 do.

No way!

Yes way, Kait. They're r8y hard.

Oh damn.

Kaitlyn received no more text messages from Tiffany after the last one. Feeling bored once again, Kaitlyn lay back on to the bed, she thought of playing with the words again, however, the consequences scare her badly. Without knowing, she fell into a deep sleep with a horrible nightmare.

"Who… who are you?" Kaitlyn saw Howard retreating back, face full of horror and shock. She noticed her surroundings was a dark, enclosed chamber, puppets and crops for the drama club were all around, messed up. The necks of the puppets were broken; puppet's head hanging around with their scary clown face revealed, red paint on the floor.

The auditorium back stage preparation room, known to be haunted, Kaitlyn understood why, judging by the eeriness that surrounds the room. Despite the very dark environment, Kaitlyn could mark out the bruise on Howard's face and the red paint on his shirt.

"Did he finally kill a student?" Kaitlyn thought jokingly.

"It doesn't matter who I am, lowly mortal." A cold menacing voice spoke behind Kaitlyn and she jumped. Turning around, a beautiful man, with golden blonde hair and cold, indifferent blue eyes was facing her and obviously scaring Howard.

Kaitlyn would usually rejoice at Howard's horrified face if she weren't that scared of the beautiful guy herself. "You have, apparently, invoked the Golden Darkness's wrath. For a lowly mortal like you, I will not forgive."

Kaitlyn could sense the coldness in his words, and the killing aura surrounding him is so strong that it makes Kaitlyn nauseas.

"Golden Darkness?" Howard's voice is obviously trembling; his voice gave away his fears. "Who what, the heck is that?" It took Kaitlyn a while to realize that the red paint stains on Howard's shirt is blood, his very own blood.

The man chuckled; there was no humor in his laughter. "You do not know what the Golden Darkness is?" He lifted his arm with his index finger pointing at Howard. Howard shivered with fear, he was afraid and Kaitlyn do not blame him. "You need to learn a lesson, Bryan Howard."

"How…" He tried his voice in hiding the tremble in his voice. "How do you know my name?"

"I know plenty of things, Bryan Howard, things you never thought I will know." Kaitlyn retreated backwards, the man's eyes! They are now silver, like the silver lining on the moon. "I shall tell you who the Golden Darkness is; she's a wonderful student of yours."

"Stop, what are you doing to my teacher?" Kaitlyn accidentally blurted out. She covered her mouth instantly, she did not mean to say it out, she was just afraid of what is going to come out of the man's mouth. The man and Howard, however, did not take any notice of what she was saying.

Kaitlyn concluded that it was either they cannot hear her, or they did not notice her presence in the room. "Do not ever forget who the Golden Darkness is, Bryan Howard."

"Who exactly is her?" Howard hit the wall behind him as he continues retreating.

Kaitlyn held her breath, "Kaitlyn Swift." A silver blast of line shot out of the man's fingertip and hit Howard who fell on the ground with a loud thud. Kaitlyn screamed, as much as she hates Howard, seeing his flesh exploding into pieces and his blood splattered everywhere does not make anything any better.

"Kaitlyn!" Tiffany's voice filled her voice, "What's wrong?"

Kaitlyn felt tears forming in her eyes, she gave Tiffany a huge bear hug. "He's dead." She manages to say, refusing to let go of Tiffany as she cried badly while Sunny came and hold her hand tightly.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 24:**_

"Kaitlyn," Tiffany pulled apart. "What do you mean? Who's dead?"

Kaitlyn felt her hands trembled as Sunny grasped her hand, not letting go. "Howard, he died. I saw the process, the man with blonde hair," Kaitlyn paused; she suddenly could not remember the dream. It was still vivid in her mind a while ago.

"What blonde hair man?" Tiffany asked worriedly. "You're having a nightmare, Kaitlyn. Howard was there at school today, showing obvious biased comments against us again, complimenting the horrible works of Janice Norman and Mabel Ford. It's all just a nightmare, don't worry."

A nightmare, Kaitlyn assured herself. If it is a nightmare, why does it feel so real? Why is she so afraid? There is one thing that Kaitlyn remember very clearly from the dream. _"Golden Darkness, Kaitlyn Swift." _She is a Golden Darkness; that explains her golden eyes. An unknown power, an unknown creature, Golden Darkness, is she dangerous or…?

Broke from her thoughts, Kaitlyn noticed the awkward silence among her best friends. They are not making Kaitlyn laugh at their stupid stunts and jokes, they are practically avoiding each other's gaze. "What's wrong?"

They were obviously caught off guard. "What?"

"There's something wrong between you two. Did you guys quarrel?" Kaitlyn felt that she hit the nail.

There was a hesitate before Sunny replied. "No, no, of course not, why will we fight?" She laughed unnaturally at Tiffany.

"Yes, why will we? Kaitlyn, you're too paranoid." Tiffany agreed.

"You two are hiding something from me, you guys are obviously fighting, and you would not even meet each other's gaze. What happened?" There were a long silence in between, "If none of you bother to answer, Tiff, you tell me."

Tiffany looked away guiltily. "Look, Kaitlyn, it's just a trivial matter between us. Don't bother yourself with this. We'll solve this soon, and when you're back, we'll be alright and will be welcoming you with smiles and hugs. It's a long story, and…"

"What she meant was," Tiffany shot Sunny a look, a _shut-up-or-you-will-get-it _look. "It is none of your concern and just keep out of our problems, will you?"

Kaitlyn felt a pang of jealous. A secret between them, something she does not know. "Fine, it's just a MYOB thing right? I understand, after all, I just missed school for a while and my best friends kept so many things from me. What great friends." Kaitlyn did not mean the sarcasm but Sunny's attitude just pissed her off.

"Kaitlyn…" Tiffany gave her hand a squeeze. "Look, I'm sorry. When the time's here, I'll tell you…"

"That's your problem, Kaitlyn." Sunny interrupted, "You are overly-paranoid, overly-sensitive. What is with that '_Howard's dead' _dream? Don't you hate him? You probably make up that dream to get the attention. You're always the center of attention, you snatch the attention of guys. You have Christopher as your boyfriend yet you sent flirty signals to the Armstrong brothers. Have you thought about Christ's feelings? No! You continue sending flirty signals around. You enjoy the attention, you toy with everyone's feelings. You're not happy just because you're not receiving any attention!"

"Sunny!" Tiffany shouted, anger flashed upon her eyes.

"Who knows? Maybe you did not contact with any screaming disease. All you had to do is to pretend to scream in the middle of the night. you screamed for the sake of attention. You screamed because you wanted the attent…!"

Klaus entered at that time and gave Sunny a hard slap across her face. "Shut up! What do you know! Try screaming for two days non-stop, you try. See if that is even possible. Bitch, if you're not here to visit, leave."

Kaitlyn grabbed onto Klaus's shirt. "Is this how you feel about me all the time, Sunny?" She blinked back her tears. "I thought we are friends."

"We were, Kaitlyn." Sunny's hatred was written all over her face. "We used to be, but not anymore. Not since the Armstrong brother came. Not until you tried to hog all their attent…!"

"Leave, bitch." Klaus's command was low, but powerful.

Sunny flushed, she gave me a look that defines hatred. She took her bag and left. Tiffany left with her after that, giving me another look of sympathy. After they left, Kaitlyn cried. She cried so badly until the hic-cups came. Klaus gave her a hug of comfort as she cried. She never felt this low before in her entire life. It was only after Aunt Pamela and Father came that Kaitlyn stopped.

She puts on a façade; there is no way she is going to let Aunt Pamela and Father knew what happened. They will make so much fuss and transferred her out of the school even. While faking a smile, her phone vibrated.

Kait, r u ok?

Kaitlyn did not want to reply.

Yeah, fine.

It was hard to fake a smile and pretended not to cry when the next message came.

I'm sry.

For...?

4 I dno what. I'm just sry. Rest well, Kait, Sun will be ok when sch reopens.

Kaitlyn choked.

I hope so. Do you feel the same way as her?

Tiffany took a long time to reply the next.

No, I don't. Trust me, Kait, I r8y don't. Sun will realize her mistake soon.

Kaitlyn's hands trembled, holding in her cries was unsuccessful.

Thx, Tiff.

Don't, Kait, I did nothing. I did not even stop Sun from blurting those hurtful words at you. I am sorry, you must be thinking that I am a horrible friend, don't you? Rest well, Kait, cya at school soon.

Kaitlyn burst into tears. She did not reply to Tiffany's message, she is hurt. So that was how her friends feel about her, is she that horrible?

"What happened, Kaitlyn?" Aunt Pamela asked.

Klaus stroked her hair. "It's okay," He whispered. "It will be okay."

"Klaus, what happened?" Father directed the question at Klaus.

"She fell out with her friends. Nothing much."

"Oh…" Aunt Pamela hug Kaitlyn, "you must be feeling horrible."

Kaitlyn cried badly that night, in Aunt Pamela's arms. So that's what having a mother feels like. Having a mother to talk to, having a mother to cry to. "Mom, I missed you." Kaitlyn murmured so that only she can hear herself.

"I know…" Kaitlyn thought she heard her mom talking to her, through the wind. _Mom will always be there for me, even though I can't see her._

Kaitlyn cried herself to sleep that night.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25:**_

Felix smiled greedily, his eyes never left the Oracle Mirror. "What an amazing discovery to make," Felix puts aside the mirror, "I'll see how you're going to entertain me this time, Golden Darkness."

Felix walked towards the door to his chamber. "Call Deborah in."

"Yes, my lord." One of the knights obeyed.

Felix waited for a short while before a knock and a flirtatious voice squealed, "I'm coming in."

A petite girl with curly brown hair sashayed in; her eyes are of a deep ruby red. Beneath those eyes are something unreadable, a mixture of deep fury and love. "My lord," She bowed low.

"Deborah." Felix's face was indifferent. "I have a mission for you."

"Yes," She smiled cheekily, "Your wish is my command, my lord."

Felix felt himself smirking. "You're in love with Brendon, aren't you, Deborah?"

Unlike a normal girl, Deborah did not blush and answer earnestly. "Yes."

Felix bored into Deborah's eyes. Her thoughts are exposed to him. She could not lie, and neither could she resist his intrusion of her privacy, she is just not strong enough. "Hmm, I see." Was all he said.

If Deborah was scared, she hid it well. In those perfect features of hers, there were no signs of fear. Something in this girl interest Felix, her purity when she was alive has changed into those pure unexplained fury in her. "She's perfect!" Felix exclaimed to himself.

"I bet that you've heard the news of the Golden Darkness, Deborah?" The petite girl nodded; face expressionless, "I want you to destroy her. Deborah, before she completely seduces my poor Bronze Darkness, your love. Get down to Earth, disguise yourself, charm Brendon, and make him yours, Deborah."

"But," Deborah's red eyes lit up. "My lord, it's impossible for mortals to see a solid form of me, because I'm not a Darkness, lord."

Felix knew that there is something special in this girl that attracted him to force her into the Dark Academy. She is smart; taking advantage of the mission he gave her, and promoted herself to a Bronze Darkness. However, he predicted it, he knew it, and he was prepared.

"Yes, Deborah. Now let us proceed to the soundproof chamber." Felix headed towards a door that no one else, he had not granted permission, are allow to enter. Felix pointed to it, "Enter."

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26:**_

"Dad," Kaitlyn grumbled. "Why the sudden change of hospital?"

Kaitlyn's father, in his handsome white hospital jacket, gave her a grim look, "It's so that I can take care of you. It's easier this way."

Kaitlyn muttered something under her breath, she felt like a kid. She is already fifteen; she can take care of herself. A soft knock on the door shut Kaitlyn's brain up. Klaus's head popped out of the small opening of the door, "Dad, a word please."

It was unusual for Klaus to be so polite, Kaitlyn's father stepped out for a moment and that got Kaitlyn's curiosity. "What are they talking about?" She asked herself.

"_You are a Golden Darkness, if you want to listen, listen. Who else can stop you?" _An inner voice from the back of her head replied.

Kaitlyn ponder over the words. _Listen. _She told her mind silently, as if she was suck into another World, she heard Klaus.

"Dad!" Klaus was whispering furiously, "Are you serious upon letting Kaitlyn stay here? They are here, aren't they? In this hospital!"

"It is time for her to know, Klaus; Kaitlyn is not a kid anymore."

"Have you thought about the consequences, if she knew?" Klaus did not even bother lowering his volume of his voice. Even without eavesdropping, Kaitlyn could hear him.

"Klaus, leave this matter, Kaitlyn will have to find out eventually, it is of no use to keep it from her."

"But…!" Klaus protested.

"Enough, Klaus." Kaitlyn's father commanded and headed towards the reception. Klaus's dark eyes were burning with anger. Kaitlyn left her own head that instant, and seems to slam her soul right back into her body, that feeling made her feel nauseas.

"Kaitlyn, are you feeling better?" Klaus greeted Kaitlyn the moment he entered the room.

"Fine." She lied, containing the nauseas feelings inside of her. "Klaus, are you keeping something from me?"

Klaus's look of guilty and the short hesitation before he answered betrayed him. "No, why?"

"Nothing." Kaitlyn is very curious. What was it, what was it that Klaus want to hide from Kaitlyn so badly? Kaitlyn tried to keep the 'thing' to the back of her mind and warned herself not to think of it. However, it was hard not to. It took hours for Klaus to finally willing to go home, though reluctantly.

"If there's anything, contact me immediately!" Klaus told Kaitlyn for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, I got it already, enough, you're not going to get any girlfriend at this rate!" Kaitlyn warned jokingly.

Kaitlyn went to the rest room, looking into the mirror again. Her usual steel-gray eyes are normal now, not the beautiful golden she saw the previous time. Kaitlyn thought about that afternoon, "How do I do it?" She asked herself but never got back the answer.

Kaitlyn snuck out of her ward out of curiosity and boredom, she caught a slight glimpse of her father entering another's ward. Curiosity got the better of her; she hid until it was completely safe for her to leave her hiding spot. Kaitlyn waited for almost fifteen minutes until her father came out of the ward, his face grief-stricken.

"Examining a patient wouldn't need that much time, would it?" Kaitlyn blamed her curiosity.

Kaitlyn slowly tiptoed into the ward her father just left; there was a small opening through the door where her father had not shut properly. It will not hurt a little to peek a little; Kaitlyn is nearing herself to the door. Kaitlyn's heart skipped a beat. Written on a clipboard hanging on the table wrote: "_Brendon Armstrong and Raye Armstrong"_

Kaitlyn pushed open the door. "No wonder they say curiosity kills the cat." Kaitlyn froze; she could not believe her eyes.

"Kaitlyn!" She heard a familiar voice, she turned away from the sight of the room and saw Raye Armstrong. "I finally found you…" His voice faded off as his eyes was locked on Kaitlyn's face. "What's wrong?"

"Who…" Kaitlyn managed to get the word out of her dry throat, "are you?"

Standing there, staring at Kaitlyn is Raye, however, lying on the bed with an oxygen mask attached to the same exact features on the face is also Raye Armstrong. What exactly is wrong? There are two Raye Armstrong facing Kaitlyn right now.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27:**_

"Here it is."

Raye was fascinated by the huge hospital in front of him, the hospital Kaitlyn was transferred to. A strange sensation filled him up, it's as if something was pumping inside him. "It's impossible," Raye told himself. He's 'dead', he cannot possibly have a heartbeat.

A strong sickly scent of medicine surrounds the hospital, the nostalgic feeling of death in the air is making him nauseas. The faces of mortals are filled with emotions – happiness, grief, relief, anger, sadness and regret. Raye wasted no time in locating Kaitlyn, focusing on his powers, he soon found himself walking towards the lift to eighth floor.

Concentrating hard on his powers, Raye knocked into a person, hard. Things scattered on the ground, making the place very messy. "Sorry!" Raye apologizes and hurried to picked up the pieces of documents.

"Oh, no, it's okay." A low gruff voice answered.

Raye picked up the scattered things on the ground, and handed it to the person he knocked into. The man was, unexpectedly young, and his face is distinctly familiar. Emotions were displayed very vividly on his face, regret; guiltiness; relief; happiness. Those feelings were so strong that it attracted Raye's attention.

"Erm," the guy stick out his hand, "My papers?"

It took Raye a long time to realize that he had been staring and hastily returning the papers back. The guy thanked him and walked off hurriedly, as if he was glad to leave this place as soon as possible. Raye wished a hole would eat him up, he must have looked gay, staring at a good-looking guy.

Raye continued his way to Kaitlyn's ward, leaning against the wall of the lift, he could not shake off the uneasy feeling he got ever since he met the guy, it was as if they were old friends who had forgotten each other.

Raye walked out of the lift into the eighth floor, a rush of attraction slam right into him and made him stumble. Raye was puzzled, he had never felt this strong of an attraction before, much less in a hospital. A possible question came out in his mind: Is this the hospital he died in?

Raye tried to ignore the attraction, instead, he struggled all his powers to make him walk to Kaitlyn's. He felt weak, and vulnerable. Using his intuition, he tried to find Kaitlyn's ward but to no avail. Raye turned to a corner, and saw a familiar blonde standing outside the door of a ward.

Raye took in a deep big breath, "Kaitlyn! I finally found you…" His voice fade away when he saw her horrified face, so full of fear. "What's wrong?"

A stronger attraction pulled him towards the room, as he struggled, he felt himself growing weaker and weaker.

"Who are you?" Kaitlyn's voice was hoarse.

"Kaitlyn?" Raye managed to spoke her name. Had the silver Nitrate stole her memories as well?

"Of course, it's dear Raye Armstrong. How could I forget?" Kaitlyn chuckled coldly, the sarcasm in her tone was strong. "That one I see in the room is a clone, I see." Kaitlyn paused, their eyes made contact, "Raye Armstrong, tell me, _what are you?_"

Raye's stomach did a flip. Things are starting to make sense to him, the strong attraction that muffled his powers, the strong fear in Kaitlyn, the attraction that made him weak. He just need to make sure, he just need to get to that room Kaitlyn was standing near…

"You can't be a human right? Disappearing suddenly after a fight, your brother fading off…"

"I'm sorry, Kaitlyn." Raye mumbled as he lifted his finger towards Kaitlyn, "Sleep," He commanded.

"Huh?" Kaitlyn's eyelids fluttered. "What… are…" Her voice weakening before she fell into a deep slumber by the door.

"I need to erase her memories…" Raye staggered towards the asleep Kaitlyn, placing his hands on her forehead. A blue magical circle was formed from the tip of Raye's finger and Kaitlyn's forehead, erasing her memories of what just happened. Slowly and gently, Raye lifted Kaitlyn into a corner where she's visible so someone will come and get her back to her ward.

As Raye got nearer to the room, the attraction got stronger and weakened his physical state. As he expected, another "Raye Armstrong" was lying on the bed, the features were exactly the same, there's no way that that's a clone, there's only one possibility: Raye is not dead yet, he is just in coma.

A strong temptation urged Raye to touch the body, and he let the temptation overcome him, his hands went up to the body's hands, wanting to touch his own warm and very much alive body. However, something strange happened, Raye's hands are fading away, and something was sucking him back into the body. Unable to resist, Raye let it happened.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter 28:**_

Kaitlyn woke up in a strange darkness, her life flashed before her. Kaitlyn knew that this is a dream as she watched fondly her 15 years of life flashed past her. There was an empty slot in between her life that made her wonder.

Kaitlyn heard someone sobbing. She turned in the darkness using her life memories as the light for her to see. A blonde girl around the age of five to six was sobbing so hard that her shoulders shook violently.

"Mommy!" The girl sobbed real badly that Kaitlyn felt sympathy for her. It was around the same age when Kaitlyn's mother passed away.

"Little girl…?" Kaitlyn called out very softly lest she frighten the poor girl, however, the girl does not seems to hear her.

"Bwendon!" The little girl sobbed even louder. "Waye! Kwaus!" Those names finally made Kaitlyn realized something. That little girl is her, Kaitlyn Swift.

Kaitlyn don't remember having any memories of her sobbing that badly for her mom back then, and she did not remember knowing Raye and Brendon as a young child. So what is this image she seeing here.

"That is your lost memories." The little girl disappeared, a younger version of the current Kaitlyn was speaking now. "Think, other than what Klaus, Aunt Pamela told you that your mom died shortly after finding out your father's affair, do you remember anything else?"

Kaitlyn paused. True enough, all these years since her mom's death, Klaus had been blaming Aunt Pamela for the death, yet how come, she had no memories of even visiting her mom in the hospital or even attending her funeral? Not to mention the fact, as far as Kaitlyn can remember, that her mom is healthy and had no sign of having a heart failure.

"No," Kaitlyn admitted, "So what? I believe what Klaus told me, and what will he gain by lying?"

"Your safety." The younger Kaitlyn said sadly.

"Safety?" A thousand questions flooded her mind.

"Let's bring you back into the memories you lost, you'll find your answers there." As soon as the young Kaitlyn said that, the present Kaitlyn started falling and falling into a dark endless pit.

Kaitlyn groaned loudly as her ass came in contact with the hard ground. She looked around her surroundings and she found out that the place was the old ice-skating rink near her school.

Kaitlyn had only came here once and she could barely remember the rink. However, she knew that the old rink was simple and plain. The rink she saw now is new and beautifully decorated with Christmas ornaments.

It didn't took Kaitlyn long to find herself, a petite five-year-old girl, holding onto a woman's hand nervously. The woman had shoulder-length navy blue hair and warm green eyes. Could this be the missing memories?

"Auntie Evelyn, please do not let go!" Kaitlyn gripped tightly onto the woman's hands.

The woman, Aunt Evelyn, smiled warmly yet did not let go.

A young boy around young Kaitlyn's age skated past. He had just the green eyes as the lady although different hair color, remind very much of someone Kaitlyn knew.

"Kaitlyn, you coward!" He teased and skated away.

There's something about this boy that got Kaitlyn curious. Right after him, another boy around the same age with navy blue hair and brown eyes skated towards him.

"Raye!" Young Kaitlyn yelled out, her face filled with comfort and pleasure.

At that time, it occurred to Kaitlyn that they were the Armstrong brothers. She had totally no recollection of them in the past, so why are they in this Memory?

"They were your memories." A twinkling version of Kaitlyn's voice spoke from the back of her mind. "Let's return our attention to the memory, there are more important parts than this."

Aunt Evelyn continued leading and guiding Kaitlyn as she teaches her the basics.

"I am going to let go, Kaitlyn." She warned and her hands slowly loosen her grip; Kaitlyn tensed up.

"Relax." And Kaitlyn relaxes.

Everything was going on fine and boosts Kaitlyn's confidence, which does not last long when a rude woman banged hard into young Kaitlyn who stumbled upon contact and fell. Aunt Evelyn rushed forward to help her up.

"You…!" Aunt Evelyn gritted her teeth.

Kaitlyn stopped paying any attention to Aunt Evelyn as her focus was took along with the beauty of the rude woman. She was sliding so beautifully that Kaitlyn was captivated. The woman's hair was long and black, tied up into a ponytail, dances with her as she slides across the rink. Her hair was so black that it seemed almost evil. Her blood red dress went well with her hair and a smirk play along her lips.

"Hera?" Aunt Evelyn muttered a word so powerful that it snapped Kaitlyn out of her trance. The word itself was a curse; Kaitlyn felt it.

"Yes, Evelyn, Hera." A beautiful voice that belongs to a man answered a question that is not meant to be answered. Kaitlyn knew that this wasn't just some normal conversation, but the telepathic waves in the air.

Kaitlyn shot Aunt Evelyn a look, whose face expression was almost unreadable: A mixture of fear, anger, and panic. Her hands were holding onto young Kaitlyn who squirmed. Kaitlyn followed her eyes to where Aunt Evelyn was making contact with, and she saw, a beautiful blonde man with blue eyes that reflected the ocean, holding onto a different lady wearing a silver outfit and long beautiful hair that is dark.

The man nodded sadly at Aunt Evelyn. It was a signal, Kaitlyn recognized it unknowingly.

"Kaitlyn," her hands gripped on tightly, her eyes are distant, "We're leaving."

She left before giving any explanations, leaving young Kaitlyn in a state of confusion. She skated, clumsily, towards a cute man in his mid thirties who waved kindly at her arrival. Aunt Evelyn's face was grim as whispered into his ears. The man's face had the same expression Aunt Evelyn wore just now.

"I got it. See you at the car, Evelyn, I will get the boys." He nodded.

"Thanks, Aaron." She skated back to where Kaitlyn is, struggling to take off the skates. After a long panicky five minutes, they headed towards the car park where a silver car was located. The three kids, sullenly yet obediently got into the car.

"Mommy, why must we leave that early? Didn't we say we are going to stay there for 2 hours? You're going back on your promise, how could you do that?" The younger of the siblings, Brendon pouted.

There was silence, no one bother to answer him. "DADDY!" He screamed.

"BRENDON!" His father yelled, Brendon got a fright, "enough."

Brendon does not need second telling.

"Aaron." Aunt Evelyn spoke, "Please." She begged.

There was a weird and awkward atmosphere around them as the kids sulked, oblivious to the grim aura surrounding the adults. It was not until they were around the corner of their neighborhood that Uncle Aaron had to break the ice.

"Stop sulking, kids." He paused. "We'll go some other time."

"Except there's no 'some other time'." The voice at the back of Kaitlyn's head mumbles again.

"Promise?" Brendon face lit up.

"No promises made, but we'll try." Aunt Evelyn smiled but there was no happiness reflected upon her eyes.

"Yay!" The boys cheered.

Kaitlyn glanced at her young self who was staring out the window of the car dazedly. No one noticed her silence as the boys joked and the adults continue their grim thinking.

It was so sudden when young Kaitlyn's head jerked up as they get nearer to her house. Kaitlyn felt it not long after, a sickly nauseas feeling, her stomach churned and tears automatically formed in her eyes: A death aura surrounds her house.

With weak resistance, Young Kaitlyn broke down, sobbing 'mommy' and choked on her words.

"Kaitlyn! Oh no, what's wrong? Mommy, Kaitlyn, she's…" Raye panic.

Aunt Evelyn made no sound, neither was shock registered on her face. She already knew. That explains everything.

"Mommy!" Kaitlyn wailed louder.

"Kaitlyn…" Uncle Aaron took his eyes of the windscreen and tried comforting Kaitlyn. Like Aunt Evelyn, he was not shocked. He, too, knew. They knew.

"Mommy…" Raye hesitantly murmured. "I… can't see anything."

Kaitlyn stopped her wailing and paid attention to her friends. Brendon proved that he couldn't see by waving frantically.

"No, chilled, don't panic. Ermm…" Aunt Evelyn's confused face was giving away the fact that she was panicking.

Kaitlyn felt like laughing in spite of the serious atmosphere. Aunt Evelyn told her boys not to panic, yet she herself was panicking. How irony. But Kaitlyn can't blame her for that, who wouldn't panic when there are three problematic kids at the back?

Uncle Aaron turned his attention back to the windscreen and exclaimed loudly.

"What?" snapped Aunt Evelyn. "Aaron, I had enough on my hands and do not need yo…! Oh my god!" She swore silently.

Kaitlyn turned her attention in front too, Standing in front of the car was an old haggard lady, grabbing onto a walking stick. There is something queer about this old woman. Despite having a car sped forward at her, she show no signs of surprise and shock. Then, at the same time, Kaitlyn's younger self noticed it too.

"No, don't stop." She shouted hysterically. "Drive right into her, it's a trap!"

"What are you talking about?" Aunt Evelyn yelled, and then it finally occurred to her. "Oh. Hera…" It was already too late. Those were probably her last words, a curse that bound the car.

The car swerved right, heading towards the house that was burnt in the present. Kaitlyn felt herself flung out of her seat into the darkness.

"Those were not her last words, you know." The twinkling voice again.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

Kaitlyn smell something burning, and felt something burning around her. She was surrounded by heat, and she felt smoke stinging her eyes.

"Kaitlyn, wake up…" She heard Aunt Evelyn. "Please, please wake up, Kaitlyn… KAITLYN!"

Kaitlyn forced open her eyes and realized that her eyes do not sting as she thought they would. The scene before her was horrifying, a scene she never thought she would ever forget. The house was in flames, so was the car. It was an explosion, the evidence was displayed openly in front of her.

A few inches away from the flames lay five familiar bodies, only one was moving. Aunt Evelyn, shaking young Kaitlyn desperately.

"How did she manage to move so many people at one time? When she's injured?" Kaitlyn asked to no one specifically.

"She teleports them." The twinkling voice.

"Teleports?" There were no more replies.

A loud spark was heard, out of nowhere, and the blonde man landed on the ground beautifully. "Evelyn! Aaron…!" He then saw the mess and the bodies. "Damn," He swore. "Am I too late?" He muttered to himself, thinking that no one survived.

"Kaitlyn!" He heard, Aunt Evelyn was still calling for Kaitlyn, to the extent of coughing and dying.

"Evelyn?"

Aunt Evelyn turned, her face was dirty from the smoke. "Felix! Kaitlyn, she had…!" She broke into big sobs. "I can't believe this. Anne sacrificed herself for Kaitlyn and I ruined it. I failed to protect her. I've let Anne down."

Felix knelt beside Kaitlyn, feeling for her pulse. The grief on his face was undeniable.

Then it finally occurs to Aunt Evelyn. "My boys? Raye? Brendon?" She had to literally drag herself towards their limp body. Felix tried feeling for their pulse too, but he only shook his head in failure.

Her sobs getting louder. "I've also failed as a friend, a mother," She glanced at Uncle Aaron who was barely breathing. "And a wife…"

Felix kept silent. Aunt Evelyn suddenly stopped crying and faced Felix. "Felix, you think you can…?"

"I can what?" He asked innocently and only realizing it after a while. "Oh no, impossible, I don't have the necessary powers. I can't."

"Yes, you can, Felix." Aunt Evelyn was trying to boost Felix's confidence, although it was obvious that it wasn't confidence that he was so worried about. "Take mine. Power, life energy, whatever! Whatever it takes for them to survive. You can take Aaron's too, he wouldn't mind, for the kids' sake!"

Felix looked away. "No, it's impossible, I really can't, Evelyn." He refused her flatly.

"Yes, Felix. Think about it this way. We need Kaitlyn to survive, we must not let _her_, let Hera succeeds! Please!" Aunt Evelyn was pleading.

Many things were going through Felix's brain. He hesitated for a long time and finally nodded. "But I can't save ALL of them, even after taking yours and Aaron, there will not be enough."

"No, it's okay!" Aunt Evelyn was happy. "As long as Kaitlyn survive, and my sons survive, I don't care less! Even if my sons are in a coma, just save Kaitlyn." To Kaitlyn's horror, Felix agreed.

"I'm sorry, Evelyn." He apologizes and placed his hands on Uncle Aaron's and Aunt Evelyn's forehead. A tear fell from his face.

With a thud, Aunt Evelyn fell to the floor, but still alive and breathing. Kaitlyn heaved a sigh of relief. "Felix, ALL."

"Ssh." Felix shushed her quiet, "Watch."

Amazingly, a silver bubble surrounds Kaitlyn, and the boys. Kaitlyn felt it, the powers and life energy the bubble is transferring to the kids, it was the bliss of life. Felix was reviving them! When they were placed gently on the floor, Kaitlyn saw that they were all breathing deeply.

"Thank goodness!" Aunt Evelyn smiled happily; true happiness was reflected upon the green eyes. Summoning her last energy, she managed a "Mommy will always love you, boys, no matter where I am." And a barely audible, "Live for all of us, Kaitlyn…" Breathing her last breath, she lay on the cool, rough hard road, lifeless. She is gone, in peace, in sacrifice for her friend's daughter, and her boys.

Felix fell to his knees, tears flowing non-stop from his blue eyes. Feelings of grief and sadness were overflowing from him before he disappeared with exhaustion. Loud sirens were heard afar and a crowd was gathering soon, pointing at the bodies and the messy explosion. An old lady holding onto a walking stick was amidst them. She smiled cunningly before turning away, transforming into a tall lady in a red dress, hair as dark as Evil.

**{A/N: SORRY!}**


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29:**_

Kaitlyn shivered despite the hot flames emerging from the scene. Her legs are rooted to the ground until the lady in red, or rather the old lady with walking stick, turned at a corner and disappeared.

As if suddenly unbounded by a curse, Kaitlyn almost lost control of her own legs.

"That lady!" She exclaimed and ran after the mysterious lady.

However, before Kaitlyn can even stepped into the crowd, an invisible barrier threw her back, sending severe shockwaves into Kaitlyn, numbing her body. Kaitlyn landed on the cold ground, feeling numb.

"You can't. That's impossible." The twinkling voice stated sadly. "Kaitlyn's body, your body, is lying here. She has no memories of anything beyond this boundary. There is a limit to your freedom."

"But… the lady… she…" Kaitlyn glanced at the corner. "Did… Did she… saw? That lady is…"

"Young Kaitlyn, she is much more matured, and sensible than we think. She may be unconscious but her mind is not yet shut down. She knew what is happening around her surroundings. That is the reason why you can see this memory."

Kaitlyn felt guilty for some reasons. Aunt Evelyn sacrificed her own life, her husband's life and even her sons' lives, yet, Kaitlyn don't even have a single recollection of them.

"We need to leave." The twinkling voice stated, once again.

Kaitlyn turned to the direction of an ambulance, they were all lifted into a gurney, on the way to the hospital. Kaitlyn took one last look around her surroundings. She saw familiar faces of her old neighbors in the present. She saw her dad, and young Klaus crying badly. And lastly, she saw Aunt Pamela next to her dad. Her hopes were dashed, her mom was dead.

Kaitlyn let darkness took over. This time, it was an entirely different darkness. It was filled with sadness, anger, grief, regret and hatred. Kaitlyn had to fight back her tears. This place makes her feel emotional.

"Kaitlyn darling." A soft voice, filled with love and warmth, called for Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn looked up. It was her mom, and her younger self.

The younger Kaitlyn looked up and extended her hands. But, before her hands touched her mom, she disappeared into thin air.

"Mommy!" Young Kaitlyn screamed, and searched around hysterically. "Mommy! Do not leave me alone! I will be a good girl so do not abandon Kaitlyn! Mommy!"

Kaitlyn smiled in spite of herself. Becoming a good girl will never be able to bring her mom back to life.

"Mommy!" Young Kaitlyn was crying very badly now. "Why did you leave Kaitlyn here? Why did you abandon Kaitlyn in this cruel world! Even Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Aaron are gone. Why did you bring them along with you? Why didn't you bring Kaitlyn along?"

Kaitlyn felt her own tears rolled down her cheeks like crystals.

"It is all my fault. Without me, Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Aaron won't have to die. Raye and Brendon will still have their parents, have their family. I killed them, I destroyed your family, so don't forgive me ever. Hate me, Brendon, don't forgive me, Raye…"

"Wake up, Kaitlyn!" Kaitlyn was jolted back into a hospital ward. The blinding light caused her to shut her eyes.

"Kaitlyn! You woke up!" Klaus grabbed tight of young Kaitlyn and hugged her.

"Klaus?" Young Kaitlyn choked, her voice weak. There were bruises and severe cuts on her face and body. Her head was bandaged.

"Thank god!" Relief flashed over Klaus's face but it does not disguised the grief etched on her brother and father's faces.

"Where is mommy?" Kaitlyn rubbed her eyes. "Why isn't mommy here with Kaitlyn?"

Kaitlyn's knees went weak. She forgot. Klaus and her dad exchanged glances, then Klaus glared at Aunt Pamela.

"I thought you say she knew?"

Aunt Pamela look flustered. "She should have knew. I don't know what happened…"

Klaus turned back to Kaitlyn, his face expression softened. "Kaitlyn, you see, mommy, she had went to a far away place." His eyes were red. "She did not abandon us. Mommy became a beautiful star."

"A Star?"

"Yes. Mommy will always be there for us. That's why, whenever you're feeling sad or lonely, look up at the sky. Mommy will be there looking after us."

Young Kaitlyn blinked her tears away. "Really?"

Klaus nodded sadly. "And…" He choked. "Aunt Evelyn and…"

Young Kaitlyn cocked her head slightly, and innocently, "Who is Aunt Evelyn?"

"Kaitlyn…? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. His eyes widened with shock. "Do you remember Aunt Evelyn?"

Kaitlyn just stare blankly at Klaus, and shook her head.

"Uncle Aaron?"

She shook her head again.

"Raye? Brendon?"

"No… Am I supposed to know them?"

"Kaitlyn…" His expressions pained and his lips quivered.

"Didn't you say that Kaitlyn will be okay…" He whispered quietly at first, and his volume increased. "You said she will be okay! You promised…!" Klaus yelled at Aunt Pamela and then as abruptly, he turned to faced the present Kaitlyn. She held her breath.

Aunt Pamela bowed her head slightly as Klaus glared in her direction in hatred. "Lord Felix."

Kaitlyn let out a sigh of relief, they weren't looking at her. Klaus ran past Kaitlyn and grabbed the collar of the previous blonde-haired guy. "Why! Why can't she remember? Why the hell did you do to her memories?"

The blonde's face remained serene and he shrugged Klaus away. "Do not use that voice on me, little boy." His face remained indifferent as he adjusted his collar. "She's suffering from amnesia."

Klaus continued glaring. "Amnesia?"

"Those were memories she chose to forget. She's only five, those were too much for her. The agony of those memories and her powers… they're all wiped out."

Klaus shot Kaitlyn a sympathy look, and ran over towards Aunt Pamela. "You lied." The two words were powerful enough to make Aunt Pamela's eyes widened. His glare was filled with so much hatred that Aunt Pamela could not find any words to rebut.

Klaus stomped out of the ward, slamming the door hard. Aunt Pamela broke into sobs. Kaitlyn's dad sighed loudly, and Felix still acting indifferent. He walked towards Kaitlyn. Gently put his head over Kaitlyn's head and ruffled her hair.

"Evelyn. I'll avenge you." His words were fierce enough to send a shiver down Kaitlyn's spine.

He turned towards Kaitlyn, "You did well, now, sleep." He send Kaitlyn into a deep slumber. Her face was blissful. No wonder they say, ignorance is bliss.

"She did not forget."

"What do you mean?"

"Young Kaitlyn lied. She lied to everyone. Despite her ignorance on the outside, she remembered the agony. As she forces herself to forget, those memories fades away."

There was a long moment of awkward silence. "Why… didn't they tell me?"

"To protect you."

"From what!" Kaitlyn was hurt, she felt betrayed.

"That, I can't tell you." The twinkling voice getting softer. "I have to go. Time is up."

"No, wait!"

"You have gotten your answers. Till we meet again. Goodbye!" The voice bade her farewell.

Kaitlyn woke up in her own present ward. Tears dripped down like a running tap. Klaus was sitting at the edge of the bed, his face filled with anxiousness. But the betrayal was too strong Kaitlyn to feel anything else.

"Kait, what's wrong? Why are you…"

"Why… did you lie to me?" Her voice quivered as she looked at Klaus's face through her tears. His eyes were filled with shock.

"You remembered." Was all he said.

**{A/N: Ohmygod. I apologize for the extremely careless mistake on my part. I messed up the chapters. This is the latest chapter. Enjoy! AND I AM EXTREMELY AND VERY SORRY!}**


	30. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30:**_

The moment Raye came in contact with his body, he regretted his choice. He is 'dead'. He is not supposed to interfere with the living. What is wrong with him? He even tampered with Kaitlyn's memories!

Struggling to leave the body, he focused on the land of living. Instead, he got slammed against a chamber when there are books everywhere.

"Welcome to the chamber of memories, Raye Armstrong." Her voice was beautiful and seductive. "I am Mnemosyne, the Titan of memories."

Raye remained weak on the ground. His body too numb to move and his dry throat refused to let him speak.

"I understand that you have interfere with the living, and wanted to claim the memories of your life, is this correct?"

"No…" His voice was hoarse.

"I'll take it as you chanced upon your body then."

Raye kept quiet.

"You're marked by the Gods, Raye Armstrong. I am one of them who voted. Overthrow the Dark Academy, do not let Hera succeed." Raye could barely focus, his eyelids are heavy. "I shall send you back. There will be no second chance."

With that, tiredness gave in, Raye slept.

He woke up in his own chamber. Was all that, just a dream? He slowly got himself ready and got himself to school just on time. His evil brother was laying his head on his table while the table between them is empty. Kaitlyn had not discharged from the hospital yet.

Raye walked towards his brother. "Brendon, I need a word with you."

His brother remained motionless. Raye sighed exasperatedly, there's no way he can do anything in the classroom. He went to his own seat, slumped his bag down on his seat and went back to Brendon's.

"Get up immediately," Raye hissed softly into Brendon's ear.

"Piss off." He cursed.

Raye raised a small spark within his palm and send it flying towards Brendon when no one paid any attention.

"What the…" Brendon got up immediately, and instantly glared at Raye, his own fist flaring up, literally. Raye narrowed his eyes. He got to fight that temptation to fight back. The class attention is on them right now.

"I warned you, Brendon. Follow me, you are NOT going to cause any commotion here." Raye whispered soft enough for Brendon to hear.

Brendon followed obediently. "What, do you want?" He snarled when they hit the corner, his fist flaring up once again. "This better be good, brother. Or you will regret."

"Trust me, I will never call you out without a good reason because there's nothing between us to talk about. But this is important." Raye's fist are sizzling with electricity. "We're still alive."

His face was at first puzzled, then confusion, lastly, anger. "What in the world are you talking about, Brother? We're still alive? Bullshit."

"No, Brendon." Raye answered maturely. " We are still alive. I saw it, our bodies. We are just in a coma."

Brendon raised an eyebrow. "That is interesting. I would loved to see our bodies, alive and breathing. Let me tell you that those are bullshit. Raye Armstrong, we're dead. You're the light, and I am the dark. Do not compare us, and do not sprout nonsense like I am still alive, I will never give up on Golden Darkness." His face does not looked as certain and confident.

"Neither will I." Raye mumbled. "But that is not the problem here…"

"Enough. I am going back. Don't bother me." Brendon growled before he stomped off.

Raye looked at his brother as he left the hallway. He shook his head and slaps his forehead, confusedly. Slowly, he strolled off towards his classroom. There was a crowd of girls staring and pointing at him awkwardly but there is one that caught his eye. A girl with deep red ruby eyes and long wavy hair smirked at him. There was something to that girl that Raye found suspicious.

Raye tried to pay no attention to the girl and continue strolling. As expected, his brother was at his table with his head lying. Raye got back to his seat as the homeroom teacher arrives.

"Silence, class." He silenced the class's murmurings and cleared his throat. "I know this is a bit sudden but we have another transfer student, her name is Deborah Miller."

The same petite girl entered.

"Hello. My name is Deborah, please be nice to me." Her smile was smug.

"Ok, your seat will be at…"

A student whose Raye can't remember his name raised his hands, "Teacher, there're no more seats available."

"Oh yes," The teacher mumbled. "There is a sudden increase of transferees in our class… Hmm.."

"Can I sit there?" Deborah pointed at the seat between Raye and Brendon.

"No." Raye spoke before he realized. "This seat belongs to Kaitlyn."

"Swift has been absent for so long, Armstrong. Let Miller sit there during Swift's absence." The teacher announced with his eyes to his clipboard.

Raye gave the girl one last stare as she sashayed towards Kaitlyn's seat. Brendon was still sleeping and do not give a care to the world.

Raye smelled a whiff of sickly scented of diluted Silver Nitrate and Ambrosia when she walked past. He finally understands. That girl is not a human. Like Brendon, she belongs to the Dark. And a newly created Bronze Darkness.


	31. Chapter 31

_**Chapter 31:**_

"Mommy!" A five year old brown hair and green-eyed kid was crying. "Daddy! Where are you!"

"Brendon!"

"Raye!"

Two five-year old kids hugged each other tight. The other kid was navy haired.

"Where is mommy and daddy?" Brendon wailed. His tiny hands clutching desperately onto his brother does hands, refusing to let go, fear that he will lose his brother.

"I don't know." Raye admitted, he was just as afraid of this white land as his brother was.

Hands in hands, they walked. In circles and circles, they found themselves in the same place. Brendon looked around, carrying a slight hope that someone will come and help him. And there he saw, an outstanding beautiful blonde man, striding into a corner. It was a man he knew fairly well, a man that often come and visit his mom.

"Brother Felix!" Brendon let go of the hands he had been clutching for a long time, and ran after the man, ignoring calls of his brother.

For a small five year old, the distance was very far. When Brendon finally caught up with Broother Felix, he was panting hardly. "Brother…"

"Hera." Brendon could not finish his greetings. "You bitch! Why did you do that to Evelyn!"

"Mommy?" Brendon thought.

The woman, Brother Felix was talking to, gave a short seductive laugh. "Evelyn? Oh, you mean the weak Silver Darkness?" Her laugh was filled with evil intentions. "She was easy to get rid of. Why, Felix, are you in love with her?"

Brother Felix's hands curled into a ball of fist. "Shut up, Hera." He snarled.

The woman laughed again, she turned and gave Brendon a full look of her. She was a beautiful lady, her hair was long and evil. A sinful lady. Her face changed almost instantly as she gave off a blast of golden fire and aimed it right at Brother Felix. He barely dodged it, and burnt his left arm.

Brother Felix staggered back a few steps. The lady in red walked as her stilettos made small sounds. She lift Brother Felix's chin up. Brother Felix struggled to shift his chin away from her touch, but she was too strong.

"You do not use that kind of tone on me, Felix. You know what I am capable of. I can easily crush your fragile bones under my stilettos even without using my powers." Brother Felix's face screwed up in agony. "That woman deserved it. She interfered too much. Anne and that Evelyn woman. They overestimated themselves. They deserved to die."

A spark overthrew Hera and she flew towards the wall near Brendon who backed off in fear. He whimpered softly so that Hera could not hear him.

"Hera you bitch!" Brother Felix regained his posture and fly towards Hera.

Hera smirked. All she did to protect herself was to aim her palm carefully towards Brother Felix's forehead. The moment their skin touches, Hera started mumbling.

"_alica est ut meus requiro vadum audio meus to order.__" _Hera chanted.

Brother Felix screamed in pain. Brendon widened his eyes but was too afraid to stand up against this woman. When it finally ended, Brother Felix's eyes changed. It reflected his lifeless soul and cold attitude.

"You will listen to my command, Felix. No one but mine. Help me go against the armed forces that are trying to overthrow me. You're my spy." The lady chuckled.

Brother Felix blinked for a few moments and soon, he smirked. His aura, like him smirk, was evil. There is nothing to it but evil. Brendon ran away.

"_Raye and Brendon Armstrong. Please head towards the court of jury." _

Brendon slowly dragged his feet. He was too distracted by his thoughts that he went autopilot.

"Brother Felix, Hera. I need to save him." Brendon was determined.

"Brendon!" Raye ran towards Brendon and attacked him with a sudden hug. "Where did you go?"

"Nowhere." Brendon lied; he smiled sympathetically. "Nowhere at all."

Brendon and Raye entered this huge court, sitting around was a bunch of masked creepy0looking shadows. The grip around Brendon's hands tightened, and was sweating.

"_Remain seated, juries. Will Raye Armstrong please step forward?" _The biggest shadow boomed through the court.

Raye stood out, shooting Brendon with nervous looks. The shadow explained the different Academy for students in the Other World. Brendon caught sight of a beautiful lady he barely remembered and Brother Felix at a corner. He did not make much a difference after what happened with Hera.

"_It is time. Dark, or Light Academy?" _Raye looked around and caught the eye of the lady in silver. He nodded towards Brendon, giving him a you're-the-same-as-me-right look. Brendon just nodded.

"Light." Raye announced loudly.

The shadow snapped his hands and Raye began floating towards the lady and was seated beside her.

"_Now, Brendon Armstrong. Please step forward. Now, choose." _

Brendon stepped forward. His hands shook nervously, Raye was shooting Brendon looks of anxious. Brendon gave his choice a last thought. Just when he was about to choose Light, he changed his mind.

At first it was silence, then Brendon finally mustered up the courage. "Dark."

Raye's eyes widened, his smile instantly dropped. "WHY!" He shrieked. "Why, Brendon! Didn't you promised me we'll get into the same academy?" Tears were flowing down Raye's cheeks. "Why, Brendon! Tell me why!"

"_SILENCE!" _the shadow said, but it was as powerful as a shout.

As Brendon floated toward Brother Felix, he saw his brother mouthing words. Slowly, he deciphers it. "You betrayed me." Brendon looked away guiltily. "I'm sorry." He thought.

When the jury ended, Brendon was taken away even without a word to his own brother. He wanted to apologize. However, he was immediately took to his new academy. The academy of dark.

"Welcome. Brendon Armstrong. Thank you for choosing Dark academy." Felix's eyes went silver.

Honestly, Brendon was afraid. He was scared to come to this academy alone. Without his parents, without his friends, without his brother.

Just like what Hera did to Felix, he gently put his hands to Brendon little forehead. What happened later was a sharp pain pierced through his head, and then darkness.

Raye woke up, panting hard. That was a dream. Definitely just a dream. What kind of dream is that? He sits up and feels his forehead. It was sweaty, yet the weather isn't very hot. He sighed, a deep low sigh.

"Brendon darling! You're awake!" He heard a familiar yet annoying sound that caught him off guard. He turned towards the flirtatious voice and saw someone he knew very well. Deborah.

"Oh, it's you. Why in the world are you here?" Brendon asked, obviously bored.

Deborah replied something but Brendon had no interest in whatever she was saying. What was that dream all about? It was all because Raye made a weird conclusion of them being alive. That is no way he could still be alive, is there?

"Brendon! Are you listening to me?" Deborah asked.

"Shut up." Brendon mumbled.

He gave a side-glance at Deborah. Why would she be here? Lord Felix must has sent her, and even turned her. His Lord must have been irritated because Brendon had taken a long time with Golden Darkness. Does his Lord not trust him? It was bothering Brendon.

"Brendon!" Deborah whined.

"Didn't I asked you to shut up?" Brendon kicked his table and walked off.

Despite his teacher's calls, Brendon continued to walk off. It irritates Brendon that the fact that he was bothered by Raye's nonsense and the dream, and also, the fact that his mentor, his Lord, does not trust him well enough to let him handle the case alone.


	32. Chapter 32

_**Chapter 32:**_

Kaitlyn slammed the door to her room; she didn't care what the rest think anymore. She let herself fall on the bed and her bed creaked under her weight.

"Kaitlyn!" Aunt Pamela screamed from below. "Dinner."

She groaned audibly, yet she can't skip dinner or Aunt Pamela will get Kaitlyn to see a seventh shrink. She is tired of them asking her how she feels and answering her questions with questions, to her, it was stupid and of no help.

"Coming!" She replied. _Soon, _she added silently.

Her memories returned to that day…

"You remembered." He stated. It's a statement, not even a question!

He just ticks Kaitlyn off. "And, if I did not remember, do you have any intentions to tell me?"

"No." He admitted. "But, let me explain…"

Kaitlyn cut him short, even without an explanation. "Oh, what, you're trying to protect me." Kaitlyn paused, and looked at Klaus in his eyes. "From what, exactly, are you protecting me from?"

"I… I…" Kaitlyn laughed coldly, Klaus and his inability to come up with an excuse, fast.

"Get out." Kaitlyn shooed him out of the room. So what if he is her brother? He lied. To her. About her mom's death, about Aunt Pamela.

"Kaitlyn…"

"Get out. Please!" Kaitlyn practically begged.

"Fine. I will wait for you to calm down, Kaitlyn." He stood up, took his bag, and left.

That was their first fight since… since a very long time ago. Although they were in progress of a cold war, Klaus still come and visit regularly, but they did not talk. Kaitlyn feels depressed. There was this cold war that broke out between her and her two besties, and now, another one with her brother. What has gone wrong?

Kaitlyn was tempted to text Tiffany and Sunny. However, she did not feel the need to because she was not in the wrong. Her pride refused to give in. As for Klaus, Kaitlyn is still furious with the heated argument with Klaus. He lied.

"Kaitlyn, if you don't come down and sit on this table within 3 minutes, I will book an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Wayne." Aunt Pamela nagged.

"I got it already!" Kaitlyn rushed down the stairs.

Kaitlyn dreaded school the next day. She had ignored everyone's calls and text messages, including Chris. Back in her class have the Armstrong brothers, and her cold war besties, that are definitely not helping her in looking forward to school. However, she had no reason to skip school that day. Any skipping would definitely earn her a trip to the shrink.

"Kat!" She heard Chris shouting behind.

She sighed dramatically; she refused to acknowledge him and therefore continued walking. But, Chris, as obstinate as Kaitlyn, do not want to give up. Instead, he ran up and caught up with Kaitlyn as she cannot run or it will seem too obvious that she is avoiding him.

"Kat! I'm calling you!"

"Oh, really?" She lied, feeling a little bad.

He sighed, "Nevermind about that, why have you been ignoring my calls? And I did not hear any news of you discharging from the hospital. I don't even believe Robert when he said he saw you walking to school."

"Wow."

Chris frowned. "Kat, are you angry with me? Have I done anything that I shouldn't?" He leaned in forward to initiate a kiss.

"No!" Kaitlyn rejected strongly. "No…" She said again, this time gentler. "Not today, Chris. I'm sorry." She walked off without even looking behind.

There she is. The place she dreaded. Her classroom. She mustered up her courage and pushed open. The chattering in the class stopped for that moment, and then some of their faces lit up.

"Kaitlyn! Welcome back! How are you?" A girl, she did not talk to despite being classmates, run over to her and gave a big hug. "I am so glad you're back, our class's beauty queen."

Kaitlyn was puzzled, and her guilt growing. She admit, like Sunny said, she enjoyed the attention but she DID NOT screamed hysterically just because of attention.

The moment the girl let go of her, Kaitlyn spotted Tiffany. Alone, near the window at the front of the class. As if knowing somebody was watching, Tiffany turned and caught Kaitlyn's eye. She nodded and smiled sadly to acknowledge Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn returned the smile and nodded.

"Where's Sunny?" She thought, turning around, looking for Sunny who often arrived in school very early.

There she was, sitting on Kaitlyn's table, chattering and giggling happily with someone on Kaitlyn's table… Feeling curious, Kaitlyn walked towards her table slowly. She noticed that everyone's eyes were on her as she walked to her OWN table.

"….And so…" Sunny was laughing but stopped abruptly when she sensed someone behind her. She turned and saw her best friend, one that she was in a cold war with.

"Sunny?" Another voice called out. "Continue…!" Her head pop out form behind Sunny.

The girl was petite, and her hair was of a beautiful chestnut brown, and her hair was wavy and of an acceptable length. Her beautiful red eyes contradict with her hair. Truthfully, that was her beauty. When bored into her eyes, Kaitlyn thought she saw a glint of hatred and fury, but it disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"You must be Kaitlyn Swift," She stood up and shook Kaitlyn's hands. "I am Deborah Miller. I transferred in here."

Kaitlyn was surprised. "Nice to meet you." She got flowed into her pace without knowing and shook Deborah's hands.

Deborah giggled flirtatious. "I am sorry for taking your seat, but this is the only seat here. Well, since you was absent, I have to take your seat." She squeezed Kaitlyn's hand hard.

Kaitlyn's hand felt the painful squeeze, and for some reason, it was as if there were pins pricking into her skin. Suddenly, she felt another hand on theirs.

"It's okay, right? Please let go, Miller."

Kaitlyn raised her head and saw Raye. Deborah clicked her tongue and let go, and then she pouted.

"You're too strict, Raye, relax. Or something precious will be snatched from you." Once again, she giggled.

Towards Sunny, she said, "Let's go, Sunny, sorry, Kaitlyn, that I took your seat, but it's mine now." She pulled Kaitlyn towards her, and in her ear she whispered, _"and I will take whatever that is yours and take back whatever is rightfully mine. Golden Darkness."_

Under her words, Kaitlyn shivered with fear as she looked at how Deborah had already taken up her space. Beside Sunny.

"So… Where is my seat again?" Kaitlyn asked Raye indifferently, acting as if she doesn't give a damn whether or not Deborah stole her seat.

Raye glanced around the classroom. "I have no idea…" He admitted.

"Then where…!"

"Attention, all students are to be assembled at the school auditorium within 15 minutes. I repeat, all students are to be assembled at the school auditorium within 15 minutes."


	33. Chapter 33

_**Chapter 33:**_

Kaitlyn never felt so unlucky in her life before. It was a horrible day she admitted. Until Tiffany came over.

"Kat." She called out, nervously. "Are we still friends?"

Kaitlyn glanced at her friend unbelievably. "Are we not?" She mimicked her shrink by answering questions with questions.

Tiffany grinned. "Give me your bag."

Together, they head towards the auditorium, meeting Chris on the way there. Despite everything that happened this morning, Chris never blamed Kaitlyn. To him, it was her 'post-illness-tantrum'. They were back to normal again. Only this time, without Sunny. Kaitlyn did not want to upset Tiffany any more by asking about Sunny and her, so she kept quiet, but she can't deny the fact that she is curious.

From her seat at the back, Kaitlyn can see Deborah and Sunny giggling few seats in front of them. On the stage, the principal coughed a little and cleared his throat. "Good morning to all. Thank you for assembling here, I have an extremely tragic news to convey."

"Oh yeah," Tiffany suddenly exclaimed. "Due to the chaos, I forgot. But Howard, had been missing school since last two days and I've heard news that he…"

There was a soft cheer and wolf whistling. Kaitlyn focused on the principal.

"…had been announced 'dead' by his family." The principal complete Tiffany's sentence

The cheering ceased. The auditorium is pin-dropped silent. Kaitlyn immediately tensed up, she felt sick. It was as if a nightmare had begun. Howard's dead. .dead.

Kaitlyn suddenly jolt up, someone was staring at her, someone with a killing intent. She browsed around the auditorium but no body is even casting her another glance. It was eerie, and creepy.

"What's wrong?" Chris whispered softly.

"You looked pale…" Tiffany agreed. "Do you want to go to the infirmary?"

"I'm fine…" Kaitlyn paid attention to the stage where the one-minute of silence was held.

No one cared. Everyone was whispering among themselves. Bryan Howard. A teacher disliked by many.

"May Mr. Howard stay in our hearts. Rest in peace." The principal ended the one-minute of .

"So…" Kaitlyn heard a schoolmate from behind her. "Who is Howard again?" Her was obviously trying to prove the principal wrong.

The students around him just laughed and giggled. Kaitlyn gripped onto Chris's hands tightly. She was angry, everyone is just taking this too lightly. A teacher just died! It was as if Kaitlyn had predicted his death, or probably, cursed his death. How could they be laughing about that? The principal shushed the entire auditorium up.

"I know that the death of a beloved teacher would caused a huge commotion in the school. However, we managed to get a new teacher within a short time. Let me introduced out new English Literature counselor, Felix Silverstein."

There was an awkward silence. Everyone was waiting for the new teacher's arrival. After a minute or so, a beautiful blonde man walked up the stage. He was quite tall and extremely handsome in his suit. The man seemed to shine even though the spotlight is not even shone on him. He looked up and was looking directly at Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn noticed that his eyes are blue.

"Oh my gawd!" A girl screamed. "He's cute! Is he looking at me?"

"Don't be stupid!" Her friends teased.

Everyone was awestruck and speechless. He is seriously too beautiful for words. When they were snapped back into reality, they clapped louder than the any applause in the school's history. Even Deborah stopped talking and was paying attention.

"Thank you," The new teacher spoke. As expected, his voice is as beautiful as any canary's voice. "For the warm welcome. Although, the auditorium is rather cold."

Surprisingly, everyone laughed at his lame joke.

"And, I just want to say… 'be honored'." He laughed and walked back, but his eyes never left Kaitlyn's.

Once again, laughter filled the auditorium.

"He makes me regret not taking Literature." The girl pouted.

Kaitlyn admits that the next teacher is hot, but he did not charm her, she felt that there was an evil aura around him. Something about him is also unexplainably familiar.

"Thank you for assembling. Please do return to your respective classrooms."

Chris was still holding onto Kaitlyn's hands as they walked back. He squeezed her hand and Kaitlyn gave her attention to him.

"You sure you do not want to go to the infirmary, Kat? You looked really pale."

"No," Kaitlyn was looking straight at him until she noticed Raye right behind Chris, walking hastily away from the auditorium.

She suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to confront Raye about what happened at the hospital, this might be a good time! "Sorry, I think I will make a trip to the infirmary after all!" She let go of Chris hands a bit too enthusiastically, and ran after Raye.

"Raye!" Kaitlyn shouted after Raye, she could barely catch up with Raye.

"Kaitlyn, good timing!" Raye turned towards Kaitlyn. "About…"

"Raye, I have something to talk to you about, that day…!"

"No, Kaitlyn, listen! I'm in a hurry so we'll talk some other time, but, about that new teacher. Stay away from him. For the time being. Do not even get close to him. You get me?"

"Y…Yeah…" Kaitlyn wondered what's wrong.

"Ok, that's all." He started taking off again.

"Classes?"

"I'm skipping!" And he disappeared around the corner.

Kaitlyn glanced around, and decided to take a short nap in the infirmary, she has no mood for classes at all. Selecting a bed at the far end, she dozed off.

"Buh-bye, Felix!" Kaitlyn was awakened a number of loud squeals. She yawned and checked the timing on the clock. It was already dismissal! She took a long nap, indeed.

"What nuisance the mortals are." Kaitlyn held her breath when she heard the new teacher's voice. "I can't believe I'm entertaining them at all."

"They should really be honored, my Lord." Kaitlyn heard Deborah's high-pitched voice.

"My skin feels really icky after having touched by those mortals." Kaitlyn can imagine the new teacher scratching his skin frantically. "Deborah, you did a wonderful job with Sunny Smith."

Kaitlyn's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Sunny.

"Thank you, my Lord."

Felix randomly chuckled. "It's a pity that Brendon had to go for a mission, I can already imagine the face on him. It's going to be priceless!"

"Aren't you the one who send him?"

"Oh, yes. I forgot." He paused for a long while. "What's wrong?"

"Brendon doesn't seem to be really happy about the fact that I came down. He was really pissed about it yesterday…" Deborah whined, innocently.

It disgust Kaitlyn.

"He will be okay, he would not dare to defy his lord, would he?" Felix laughed again.

"Yes, my Lord. I shall excuse myself then."

"Deborah?"

"Yes?"

"Do nothing to the Golden Darkness. _Nothing at all."_

"Yes." A spark was heard and the click of the infirmary door sounded.

Kaitlyn ensured that it was safe so that she can leave her 'safety-zone'. Brendon Armstrong. A mysterious boy who happened to be her childhood-in-coma friend, and yet, he seemed to be in cahoots with a new evil transfer student, and a new transferred teacher, a new evil Lord.


	34. Chapter 34

_**Chapter 34:**_

Chris's jaw tightened, his hand clenched.

"Chris… You okay?" Tiffany asked.

Chris glared after his girlfriend. "Sure, very okay."

He walked off. He is filled with jealousy. Yet, all he can do is to watch his naughty girlfriend run after some male classmate she recently show plenty of interest to, and lied to him that she is going to the infirmary and running in the opposite direction.

It was infuriating. Recently, two brothers transferred in out of nowhere and started hogging his girlfriend's attention. Kaitlyn Swift. A girl that caught his attention back then, the only girl. What can he do, exactly?

"Christopher…" He heard a voice from behind. "Kidney?"

"What?" He snapped. He is not in any mood to entertain anyone.

"My name is Deborah Miller, from Kaitlyn's form class." A petite girl fidgeted shyly.

"Yeah, so?" Why doesn't this girl leave him alone?

"Deborah?" Sunny walked in and blushed furiously the moment she noticed Chris. "Chris!"

"Yeah, hi." He remembered the fight between her and Kaitlyn.

Chris watched stupidly as Sunny grabbed Deborah aside and started whispering. Chris ruffled his messy hair.

"Deborah!" Sunny blushed when Deborah turned to face Chris.

"It's okay!" Deborah giggled.

To Chris, she said. "You hate the Armstrong brothers, don't you? Hogging your girlfriend to themselves. Selfish, aren't they?"

Chris felt something. They hit homerun.

"Why don't I help you?" She giggled again, "We will help you."

Chris ruffled his hair again. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because…" She glanced at Sunny. "I love Brendon."

Chris looked at her. She is not any other normal girl. She doesn't blush and seemed to feel confident and proud of her love. It sort of reminds him of Kaitlyn.

"Whatever." He shrugged and returned to his classroom.

Chris was sitting near the window for Trigo. He thought back of how Kaitlyn and him had drifted apart since the arrival of the brothers. Wouldn't things be to his advantage if he managed to get rid of the brothers? In the first place, they should have learnt to keep their filthy hands off other's girlfriends.

"Chris!" He heard his friends calling him. "Did you study for Trigo?"

"Nah, of course not."

"Duh, he can get full marks even without studying, that genius."

"I'm not!" Chris deny, laughing.

"Talking about that, how are things between you and Swift…?" His best friend, Robert, asked.

"Kidney! There's someone outside looking for you."

"Hold on." Chris excused himself. Hoping that it will be Kaitlyn.

But alas!

"Hey, Christopher." Deborah looked into his classroom. "Meet me and Sunny after school at the library?"

"What for?" Chris raised his eyebrows.

"I'll teach you some tricks on getting rid of them. The brothers."

Chris stayed silent.

"Come on. Both of us will benefit from this! You will get your beloved girlfriend back, while I can make Brendon fall in love with me. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone? We just need to cooperate!"

Chris went in deep thoughts. "Sure."

"Then, it's a date! See you!" She purposely said it out loud so almost everyone in Chris's class can hear.

Giggling, she skipped away. Chris sighed out loud, ruffling his hair again. This is becoming a habit for him when he feels puzzled or frustrated. He went back to his friends.

"New target?"

"She's cute!"

"Shut up." Chris chuckled.

"I guessed I've got my answer." Robert laughed.

Chris's mind drifted off throughout the entire of Trigo and the rest of the days. He almost earned a detention for daydreaming, and a bloody nose during physical education for dodge ball. His mind could not concentrate at anything other than getting rid of the brothers and claimed his dating life back.

It was finally the end of the day. He kept his promise and waited in the library. He felt stupid, though, to believe in a bunch of giggling girls' words. After half an hour of waiting, he gave up and deduced that they were just making a fool out of him.

"Sorry!" Deborah panted in as he got up of his seat. "Class was released late!"

"Yeah, so what's your plan?" He was already irritated. "Quit wasting my time."

Deborah giggled again. "Patience, my boy."

"I'm leaving."

"No wait!" She held onto his hands, rubbing her chest against Chris's arms. "You're leaving?" She whined.

"Fine. I will stay. But get yourself off me." He shoved her away as if she was something dirty.

They discussed until it's going to be evening. The sky is dark and the Sun is setting. Their efforts were fruitless, none of Miller's suggestions made any sense. However, it was amusing though.

"Oh, yes." Deborah dug into her bag and pull out a pink envelope. "Before I forget. Kaitlyn wants me to pass this to you…"

Chris snatched the envelope away and opened it. It was written with Kaitlyn's handwriting:

Chris. I am sorry for my behavior nowadays. Can we make up? Meet you at the corridor near the staff room at 4p.m.

-Kaitlyn.

"Why didn't you pass me this envelope earlier?" Chris yelled at Deborah.

Without waiting for an explanation, Chris ran out of the library, leaving his things behind. While he was running, he took out his cell and glanced. The time is 5:16pm and no missed call or text messages from Kaitlyn. Could she have thought that Chris was still angry with her?

"Shit!" Chris cursed while running. Why did Deborah only pass him the envelope now?

Chris finally reached the corridor. To his disappointment, there was no one there. He panted hardly, he cursed mentally at Deborah. He shall call Kaitlyn tonight and explain. He left.

"Chris!"

Chris turned abruptly, he saw a silhouette against the setting Sun. "Kaitlyn?" He asked, hopeful.

"No…" He finally saw her face and she walked closer. Sunny. "Why must it always be Kaitlyn? Can't it be me?"

She came forward and placed her hands on his chest. Her eyes glittering with tears. Her short auburn hair danced in the wind sadly. Chris is in a dilemma. He ruffled his hair. Again.

Patience, he tells himself. "Sunny, did you imitate Kaitlyn's handwriting and write that envelope?" That would have all made sense.

Kaitlyn and Sunny and Tiffany have been friends long before Chris and Kaitlyn dated each other. They were so used to each other that it won't be surprising if Sunny could imitate Kaitlyn's handwritings perfectly. It wouldn't even take much effort.

"I did not. I received a text from Deborah telling me that you want to meet me. So I…"

Chris banged his fist against the wall. He had played right into her trap. That witch, Deborah Miller.

"Chris… I like yo…"

"I'm sorry, Sunny. I have Kaitlyn already. You knew that. Even you two are not friends anymore, she is still my girlfriend." Chris interrupted.

"So?" Sunny shook her head vigorously. "She is getting carried away with the Armstrong. She isn't even treating you well. Does she even treat you as her boyfriend? Why does it have to be her? I have a crush on you way long before she do!"

"Sunny, stop…!"

Before Chris can say anything, Sunny tiptoed and forced her lips to his. Although it was a forceful kiss, Chris could taste the strawberry candy from Sunny's lips. The tastes of Sunny's lips may be different from the taste of Kaitlyn's but Chris does not deny the fact that he is enjoying it, a little. He remembered how Kaitlyn always rejected his kiss nowadays, after all, a man does need his energy from a kiss of the opposite sex right? Without knowing, Chris got into the mood and closed his eyes, enjoying every taste of it.

Sunny's mouth parted slowly and her tongue touched Chris's lips softly, indicating her need for a French kiss. Chris obeyed, he let his tongue slide into Sunny's mouth and felt Sunny's tongue against his. Chris's hands moved to Sunny's back and squeezed it. Sunny squirmed but she was obviously enjoying it. Chris's tongue started licking the roof of Sunny's lips, and her hands around Chris's neck tensed a little.

Just when Chris is getting into the mood by letting Sunny's tank top strap slide down her shoulder, he heard a shatter of clay against the hard ground. He then saw his worst nightmare. Standing in front of him, was…

Kaitlyn.


	35. Chapter 35

_**Chapter 35:**_

The proof and evidence were displayed right in Kaitlyn's face yet she refuses to believe it. Her boyfriend was cheating on her, with her still-in-cold-war best friend. Kaitlyn saw how reluctant Chris was at first, but after all, men are men. Chris did not resist the temptation and instead, he gave in to it and kissed Sunny passionately. Finally, Kaitlyn's shivering hands are too weak to carry the weight of a flowerpot and it crashed to the floor. The moment the pot met in contact with the ground, it shattered into a million pieces. Like her heart.

That loud piecing sound made Kaitlyn's presence noticeable. She bent down and tried to pick up the pieces, but it was a fruitless effort. Not only did she not manage to pick it up, she even cut herself on the thumb with the pieces. The pain was comforting compared to the pain inflicted to her shattered heart. Blood oozed out of her thumb, as tears flowed from her eyes.

Kaitlyn felt really stupid, as she knew that Chris and Sunny are probably laughing at her now. Chris bent down too, he tried helping, his fingers touched Kaitlyn's.

"Kaitlyn, I can explain…"

Kaitlyn just slapped his hands away and ran off. She felt herself being jerked back suddenly.

"Kaitlyn! Let me explain!" He yelled.

Kaitlyn pulled back from his strong grip. "Let go of me, you jerk!"

It only worsens things, Chris's hands tightened. He gripped Kaitlyn and pulled her towards him. He planted a rough kiss on Kaitlyn's lips who had difficulty pushing him away. Kaitlyn, with no other resorts to turn to, bit on Chris's lips and he tore away. She tasted his blood in her mouth.

"Do not kiss me with those filthy lips of yours, Christopher Kidney!" She screamed. "We're through!"

Chris wiped his lips and frown. His forehead wrinkled. "What! You didn't even give me a chance to explain, Kaitlyn. It was a mistake, really!"

Kaitlyn no longer feel like crying, she only felt the anger in her rising. "A mistake? A mistake that you kissed Sunny? You're cheating on me, Christopher, am I supposed to close one eye to that?"

Chris's expression changed, he moved in an unbelievably fast speed that his shadow become a blur. His fist banged into the wall beside Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn heard a crack, wondering if it is the wall or his knuckles. She was too afraid to actually check, she is trapped in between Chris and the wall.

"Cheating?" His voice firm and fierce. "You're the one to talk, Kaitlyn. For how many times had you cheated on me with the Armstrong brothers? You dared to lie to me that you're going to the infirmary yet you ran in the opposite direction, you were just chasing after your beloved Raye Armstrong, weren't you? I love you, Kaitlyn, I really do. Honestly! I just need Sunny to satisfy the sexual needs and the hole you left. Obviously, she can't fill it up."

Kaitlyn finally let it out. With all her strength and courage, she slapped him.

"What do you treat her for?" Her voice low but powerful. "Your sex slave?" She looked at him in his eyes. "Chris, we're over. Over forever." With that, she kicked Chris in the calf and walked away, briskly.

Kaitlyn's speed picked up as she disappeared from Chris's side until she started running. Near the classroom, she spotted Deborah.

"Haven't I warn you, Golden Darkness," Kaitlyn wiped off her tears. "I will take everything that is yours."

"Deborah, you know, people often say do not add oil to the fire. It will just make things worse." Kaitlyn glared at her.

"Oh really? What are you going to do? Blast me?"

"Your wish is my command, Deborah." Without warning, a strong blast of Golden Light shot out of the tip of Kaitlyn's finger that hit Deborah, square on her chest.

Deborah flew, literally, towards the rows of lockers. Clearly, Deborah did not expect good ol' Kaitlyn to really blast her off. Kaitlyn laughed coldly as she approached Deborah with her powers at her tip, crackling. Deborah showed no fear but in her eyes, Kaitlyn saw her own reflection. She stepped back.

"This is… me?" Kaitlyn was afraid. Afraid of herself, afraid of her powers.

Deborah got up, her smug face bloody, but the smirk never left her face.

"Hmmm." Someone hummed. "This is the power of Golden Darkness, huh? You can easily bleed a Bronze Darkness to death, even if the place looked unaffected."

"Shut up!" Kaitlyn's shivering hands are now covering her ears, trying to block out the voices of Deborah. And Felix.

"You're strong, but inexperienced. You cannot control your powers."

"Shut up! Please! Shut up!"

The windows closed to Kaitlyn cracked, but remained intact.

"Oh no, we cannot have that." Felix started acting all teacher-liked. "Destroying the school's property is a no-no." He lifted his palm towards the windows, and almost instantly, the window became as good as new. "How about joining us, Kaitlyn? I guarantee that you will be in control of your powers, I will train you. You will…"

"SHUT UP!" She shrieked.

"Become more powerful!"

Kaitlyn's heart pounded against her ribs hard, her hands are shaking badly. "Just shut up. Shut up."

A sudden shell dropped out of nowhere, and fog surrounded them. Felix was caught off-guard, and so was Deborah. Out of the blue, a hand grabbed Kaitlyn and started dragging her, running. Together, they ran out of the school.

"You… okay?"

"Raye?" That was unexpected. "Are… are you one of them?"

"NO!" He deny furiously. "Do not compare me with the needs of them."

"But, Brendon, he is…?" Kaitlyn's mind is swirling, but she needs to get to the bottom of this.

Raye sighed. "Look, Kaitlyn, it's late and you had a rough day. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"No." Kaitlyn looked earnestly into his eyes. "No more delaying, Raye. I want the truth now."

Raye looked like he was in a difficult position.

"First thing first, what is a Golden Darkness?"

He kept silent.

"We're not getting anywhere if you keep quiet, you know there, right?"

"You…" Raye groaned. "You're a Golden Darkness. One and only. A legendary creature, also known as brightest of the light, darkest of the dark. You're really powerful, you know that? Really really powerful. You can even kill all of us."

"Us?"

"We're people… _creatures_ from another dimension. Felix, Brendon, Deborah, and I. We're all from the other dimension. The other dimension is split into two different academies. Light and Dark. In the past…"

"Skip out the history, will ya?"

He nodded. "Anyway, I'm from Light Academy, and the rest, Brendon and well, you know, are from the Dark Academy. Felix is the head master there. We're classified between two different ranks. Bronze, and Silver… Felix and my head mistress, Nadine are the only two Silver Darkness, who are highest in command under you. Brendon, Deborah and I are Bronze Darkness. The rest are normal students, who either choose to save, or target living for recruit."

Target the living… Everything from the car accident, dated a few months ago, all made sense to Kaitlyn finally. "Anyway, the thing about Nadine…"

"She's a beautiful goddess. Inside and outside."

Kaitlyn finally get it now. Raye's in love with Nadine. The one who visited her dreams not too long ago. And also, Felix, the Dark. "So why are they pestering me now?"

"Because," Raye's eyes are serious. "Felix wants your power. He wants to gain more power. He wants more than what he has now. In order to have more power, he has to have you. Golden Darkness."

Kaitlyn lose her ability to speak for a minute.

"If the Other World… is known as the after-life, it means that you're…" Kaitlyn couldn't bear to finish her sentence.

"Yes, exactly what you're thinking, Kaitlyn." He confirmed her suspicions. "I'm dead."


	36. Chapter 36

_**Chapter 36:**_

Sunny woke up in her own worn-down room. She glanced around her pathetic room, the sky-blue paint was coming off, and there were cracks on the floor. She had not told Deborah about her living conditions, fearing of how Deborah might look at her. She wanted Deborah's respect, not her disgust. Sunny's finger went up to her lips, the kiss yesterday given by Chris was still tingling on her lips, she enjoyed the feeling. Sunny cast a disgusted look over her table. There's a beautiful photo frame, but it was tainted by Kaitlyn Swift's face.

Kaitlyn Swift might have say that she didn't mind Sunny's living conditions, but deep inside, she probably mind it. A lot. Kaitlyn Swift, she is horrible, and Sunny hates her. Sunny swiftly grabbed the photo frame and dumped it into the bin casually. _This is junk, and junk belongs to the bin_, Sunny thought before she headed towards the toilet to wash her face.

Sunny went down for breakfast, but all there is was a burnt toast, and the smell of the expired milk. Sunny sighed, her good-for-nothing dad had always left the chores to her and cannot even cook a simple breakfast for her family. Sunny grabbed a few eggs off the refrigerator and whip up some scrambled eggs for her mom, and an omelette for her brother. Hastily, she brought the breakfast tray up to her mom.

Sunny's mom was looking out of the window sadly, her fragile body looked as if it will break any moment. There are times when Sunny wants to end her mom's suffering and let her go, but on the inside, she knew her mom is trying very hard to fight that cancer cells that is shortening her life span. Sunny felt guilty for always spending money on clothes to tell everyone that _"Hey, I am not poor!", although _she herself knew that their money was limited. Her useless dad often spent those money on alcholic drinks instead of paying off the bills that are piling outside their doorstep, and instead of helping, Sunny and her brother, Jeremy, used up the remaining money.

Sunny blinked back her tears, and tap softly on the door, not wanting to frightened her mom. Her mom turned at the soft tap and immediately put on a facade.

"Sunny dearie." She smiled, although Sunny knew that she is suffering within. "Thank you for always bringing up the breakfast."

"Mommy." Sunny's voice quivered.

"My pretty daughter. It has always been a dream of mine to see my daughter married to a guy she loved, I guess that's impossible." She smiled sadly, and her breathing become slower.

"Don't say that, mommy, you'll get well. Soon." Sunny was not sure that is she assuring her mom, or herself.

"Dearie, we have to face reality. My time is limited, and you're only fifteen..."

"If only that useless dad did not spent all that money on alcohol, we can probably get you treated!" Sunny protested.

"Don't speak of your dad that way... Dearie. After I... passed on, you and Jeremy will only have your dad."

"I rather be an orphan."

"Dearie..." Sunny's mom's eyes closed.

"Mom?" There was no response. "Mom!" Sunny panicked.

Sunny placed her fingers on her mom's wrist, to realize that her mom just dozed off. Sunny placed the breakfast tray at the side, so that her mom can eat when she wake up. Rubbing the tears away from her eyes, she headed downstairs where her brother gorged on his omelette.

"Hey, my allowance!" He demand rudely.

"Didn't I just gave you your allowance last two days?"

"Twenty wasn't enough to last me even a day!" He protested.

Sunny flipped through her bag angrily, and grabbed a crumpled ten for her brother. It was her allowance for the day but well.

"A ten?" He grumbled.

"What! That IS my allowance, dude. I don't even have a one with me now! Deal or no deal?" She threatened.

"Fine." He stuffed that crumpled note into his bag. "Oh, where is Kaitlyn? It has been a while since I last saw her. I thought you usually hitched a ride from her?"

Sunny glared at him. She knew Jeremy is crushing on Kaitlyn since she first introduced them. "Don't even talk about it."

"Why? You guys had a tiff?" He laughed.

"Shut up, or I will take back that ten."

"Hmph." He puffed and walked off.

Sunny closed her eyes for a few seconds, and took a deep breath.

"Hey, sis!" Jeremy shouted from the front porch. "A guy is looking for you. I didn't know you had a guy in school!"

Sunny frowned. Who would want to look for her in an early morning? Swinging her bag over her shoulder, Sunny exit the kitchen and head out to see who that mysterious guest is.

"Erm. Good morning." Chris ruffled his hair, and mumbled nervously.

Sunny cannot believed her eyes, she rubbed them a couple of times. Christopher Kidney, a guy whom she had a crush on for years, is on her front porch and is nervous just from talking to her?

"Good... good morning. Chris." _act cool, pretend that his presence doesn't get into you. _Sunny told herself.

"Good... good morning." Jeremy mimicked her.

"Go to school, you annoying jerk!" She knew her cheeks are burning crimson red now. To Chris, she said, "Do not mind him."

"Yeah..." There was an awkward silence hanging in the air as they both stood there stupidly. "Can..." He blushed. HE ACTUALLY BLUSHED. Sunny is having a hard time keeping her heart from flying out of her throat. "Do you mind if we walk to school together?"

"Yeah!" She realized how enthusiastically she sounded, and calmed herself. "Sure. I don't mind."

He flashed a charming grin and Sunny felt like she cannot take it anymore. While walking to school, they chatted about trivial things but that, is enough to supply plenty of happiness to last Sunny an entire week. What sent Sunny to cloud nine was when Chris held her hand, their fingers entwined. Sunny wondered if Chris is going to do the same thing to her as he did with Kaitlyn when they first started dating. It was still vivid in her mind and the jealousy stained her mind back then. The moment they reached school, they were holding hands, and Chris 'princess-carried' Kaitlyn and officially announced to the entire school.

The moment they reached school, Sunny spotted Kaitlyn and Tiffany at a glance. Almost instantly, Chris let go of her hands. Hurt pricked into Sunny's heart, but she made no comment.

"Sorry. Sunny!" He apologizes and took off after Kaitlyn.

Right after that, Sunny's heart shattered into a thousand pieces. It was a horrible feeling. Depressed, she headed towards her classroom and saw Deborah, seated at Kaitlyn's old desk. Right beside her, was an empty Brendon's seat. Sunny took her place at Raye's old seat.

"Good morning, Deborah." She smiled in spite of herself. "Guess what happened today...!"

"Good morning, Sunny." Deborah brushed her off in a cold manner.

Sunny felt the hurt pricking into her heart, once again. _No, that's what so cool about her. _Sunny thought.

The chair beside Sunny made a loud screeching sound when pulled. Their heads towards the sound. Brendon coolly took his seat.

"Brendon!" Deborah's face immediately lit up.

Sunny wished that Deborah's face would lit up the exact way when she greeted Sunny. She felt like she was the only one in this friendship. The entire day passed in a blur. Sunny was distracted by her relationship with Chris and Deborah. She witnessed Chris begging with Kaitlyn just now. Sunny flared up, just from thinking about it. Why does everyone only loves Kaitlyn? Jeremy, Chris, and Raye, obviously.

"What's wrong? Problems with love relationship?" A voice frightened Sunny, she jumped.

She turned and saw the new English counselor. His blue eyes bored into hers. "Mr. Silverstein."

"How about consulting me?"

Without knowing, Sunny soon found herself in his office. Alone. She saw plenty of presents on his table.

"So... What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Is what she said, but in the end, she let out all her woes. To a teacher she barely knew.

"Do you want to destroy Kaitlyn Swift?" For a moment, she thought she saw a glint of silver in his blue eyes. "I can help you..."

"Destroy her as in...?"

He smirked. "Kill her, take her life. Destroying her."

Sunny thought this counselor was joking. She laughs. "That's a nice joke."

"That's not a joke." His smile fade off. His face serious, his eyes reflected the same thing.

"It's impossible..." She is becoming nervous and freaked out.

"It is possible, Sunny. I need your co-operation."

"You're... crazy..." Her voice is trembling, this counselor is really freaking her out. "I... I am leaving."

She mustered her courage and ran for the open door. However, before she can even made it to the door, it slammed. By itself. Sunny knocked hard into the door, her knees might give in any time. Her fingers are trembling as they struggled to force open the knob.

"It's useless. Sunny. Why don't you just co-operate?" The counselor laughed, coldly. "You can't run away. It will not open."

Sunny's back is now facing the door, she felt her blood draining from her face. This is not your normal counselor. His eyes became... Silver... He might not even be a human. Felix Silverstein threw his head back and laugh as if everything's a joke. And to prove her theory of him being inhumane, a silver flame danced in his palm.

"You should have listened, and then, I wouldn't have to resort to this." He is obviously happy, enjoying Sunny's fear of him.

He snapped his fingers, and a spark was heard. Deborah appeared out of nowhere, Sunny felt a flick of hope in her. Deborah... Deborah can save her.

"Deborah, listen! This counselor...!" Sunny's words was cut off when Deborah knelt in front of the counselor. "De... Deborah, what are you doing! He is not human. He can...!"

"My lord, what do you need of me?"

Sunny felt defeated. Deborah is the same as the counselor, she, too, is not human. Sunny felt like giving up on hope. She will die. No one will save her...

"Deborah, rise."

Deborah rose. She is his lackey, his slave.

"Sunny," His voice as beautiful, although dark. "Let's make a deal, shall we? You don't have to be so scared."

Sunny just stare, her voice stuck in her throat.

"Your mom, she contacted with cancer right?"

Her voice finally escaped her throat. "How do you know! Don't you dare involved her!" She felt her pent-up frustration escaping all at once. Chris's attitude, Deborah's betrayal.

"We make a deal. We shall exchanged Kaitlyn Swift's life for your mom's."

"How...?" She is still scared.

"I want... need Kaitlyn Swift's life. You need your mom. You will co-operate with me, summon Kaitlyn out, and I will destroy her, completely. The moment I got her life, your mom will be saved. Kaitlyn's life for your mom's. How's this?"

Sunny can't decide. Her enemy's life for her mom's.

"You love your mom, right?" Deborah flicked her hair to the back. "And you hate Kaitlyn Swift. Isn't this an easy decision to make? The Lord is making your life easier, Sunny Smith, must you take so long?"

_I hate you..._

Ignoring the guilt that gnawed on her insides, Sunny agreed. She made a deal with the Devil. Her mom can be saved. She will be murdering someone, indirectly, and she wouldn't even be caught. She might be guilty for her entire life, but her mom will survive.

Shivering, she did as what Felix told her to do. She wrote a note, and slipped into Kaitlyn's bag tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow her mom will be saved.


	37. Chapter 37

_**Chapter 37:**_

It was a horrible day for Kaitlyn who arrived in school to find posters about her pasted everywhere in school.

"**Kaitlyn Swift is a big fat LIAR." **and **"Kaitlyn Swift screams for attention!" **

Tears stung Kaitlyn's eye, but she decided not to cry. With her quivering hands, she tore down the posters one by one. Behind her, she heard whispering and chatters that bothered her, yet she just acted indifferent.

"You overestimated yourself, Kat. Do you seriously think that you can tear all this down by yourself?"

"Tiffany, Raye!" Kaitlyn exclaimed, in both delight and surprise.

"I will take things from here. You and Raye will take care of things near the lockers corridor?"

Kaitlyn nodded.

The lockers corridor was unusually empty, on a school morning. That is to her advantage. Ever since Raye told her about… _things. _She had been avoiding him. She gawked as he shot a thin Bronze laser at the posters and they burnt up. What is more surprising was that, the laser was obviously hot, yet the walls are intact.

"Want to try?" Raye winked at her.

Kaitlyn was more than eager to try it out, but she had no idea how exactly, to do it. Curiously, she pointed her index finger at the poster, and focused. Indeed, a blast of golden light shot out of her fingers, and…

Left a huge hole in the wall.

Kaitlyn panicked. Raye's eyes just widened at the hole she made. They glanced at each other, and burst into fits of laughter.

"It's better for you to stick to your hands."

Together, they managed to clear the corridor fast, with mostly the help of Raye. Kaitlyn had different class from Raye and Tiffany afterwards. She took up Trigo, while they took Biology next. Raye gave Kaitlyn a reassuring pat on the shoulder. It was unexpectedly warm, for someone who is _dead._

"See you at lunch, Kat!"

Kaitlyn barely nodded. Heading towards class, it took her all her courage just to open the door. The chattering faded as she stood there stupidly. She knew they were talking about her. All eyes were on her as she made her way to her seat.

"Hey, Liar Girl." Liar with capital L. "Is that your seat, or are you lying about it?"

Deborah sashayed towards Kaitlyn's seat, with a haughty look on her face. "I'm pretty sure that is my seat, Liar Girl. Why don't you give it back?"

Kaitlyn retreated, her cheeks burning. As she was heading to the seat, nearest to the door at the back, Deborah slipped out her leg and tripped Kaitlyn, who fell down with a loud thud against the hard cement floor.

"Hey, Liar Girl, I heard that you could scream really nice notes, why don't you scream some for us?" Deborah teased. "What's wrong? Are you going to cry? We're giving you ALL the attention you want, are you still not contented?"

Kaitlyn remained silent, as she got humiliated in front of the class. She was just controlling, remaining patient as the class roared with laughter.

"Liar Girl, are you crying? You're shivering." Deborah's voice got smugger and smugger. "Are you shivering _out of fear?_"

Kaitlyn, unable to hold it in, rebutted. "Are you trying to say I am scared of you, Deborah? Are you plotting some kind of revenge against me? Shouldn't you be the one that is afraid of me? I knocked you out bloody last two days. Was that not enough, do you want another go?"

The class's laughter came to a stop. It is mainly silence now.

Kaitlyn's hands tightened into a fist so tight that her knuckles turned white. Kaitlyn no longer care, her reputation was already tarnished. After all, this isn't a lie, it's partly true.

"Lying again? Liar Girl, have you not learn your lessons?" Her face emotionless.

Kaitlyn assumed that it was just a façade.

Kaitlyn snorted rudely. "Oh really? How do you explain those bruises? Would you like me to try again?"

Deborah immediately shot up to her lips. Kaitlyn just smirked. "What are you guilty about?"

Deborah glared. "You liar."

"Who is now?"

Deborah stormed out of humiliation, Kaitlyn felt triumphant. Proudly, she got herself seated. The teacher walked in just at the right time and humiliated Deborah further by reprimanding her of trying to skip classes. Deborah shot Kaitlyn a glare that is filled with pure hatred.

Kaitlyn did not pay attention at all to Trigo, she felt victorious. It was an awesome feeling. She felt as if a huge boulder was lifted from her shoulders. Seeing how chagrinned Deborah is, Kaitlyn felt really pleased with herself.

Kaitlyn became really excited when it's almost time for lunch dismissal. She begun to count down, waiting eagerly to meet up with Tiffany and tells her what happened. When the bell rang, Kaitlyn is already more than ready to rush out of the door.

"Kaitlyn…?" Kaitlyn was only halfway through the door when she was stopped by a duo of petite girls who looks popular.

Kaitlyn nodded.

The taller one has platinum blonde hair and beautiful olive-green eyes, while the other has a darker blonde hair too, and her eyes are amethyst purple.

"Hello." The petite blonde smiled. "My name is Beatrice."

"And I am Bernice!" The platinum Blondie exclaimed. "Can I shake your hand?"

Kaitlyn found that question weird but extended her hand anyway. Bernice shook it enthusiastically. Her face brightened with delight and her olive-green eyes lit up.

"Oh my god! I shook Kaitlyn Swift's hands! I am never going to wash this hand _ever._" Kaitlyn found them really amusing. "You was really cool there, Kaitlyn! You're my idol! You should have seen Deborah's face!"

"Pfft." Kaitlyn accidentally let out a laugh.

They looked at her, confused.

"I'm Kaitlyn Swift, nice to meet you, Beatrice, Bernice."

Beatrice smiled, Bernice grinned. Together, they walked to the canteen together to look for Tiffany. Kaitlyn never feel so happy since the car accident. It was the sudden blast of Golden light that ruined her almost perfect life.

"We have always admired you! But we never had the chance to talk to you!" Bernice was jumping around in joy.

"Was she always so… Hyper?" Kaitlyn asked Beatrice.

Beatrice laughed. "Yes."

Kaitlyn observed these sisters. Beatrice was a more composed, matured girl and was more quiet, a very pleasant girl. She gave off an older sister feeling. The older one, on the other hand, was too cheerful and extremely hyper. However, Kaitlyn tends to get carry away with her pace.

"Kaitlyn!" Kaitlyn heard Tiffany, and instantly feel happier.

"Tiff! Raye!" Kaitlyn called out.

"OHMYGOD!" Bernice squealed loudly in Kaitlyn's ear. "RAYE? RAYE ARMSTRONG!"

Kaitlyn laughed awkwardly.

"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD! SHAKEMYHANDS! SHAKEMYHANDS!"

Bernice shook Raye's hand so vigorously that Kaitlyn worried for Raye's hands. Kaitlyn saw Beatrice at the side, her face looking down, but her ears are red. Kaitlyn walked closer to Beatrice and nudged her.

"You're blushing, Beatrice. Are you in love?"

It was only a small tease.

"I can't decide…" She murmured.

"Huh?" Kaitlyn tilted her head in confusion.

"I can't decide between them! Raye, the pure white angel, with a smile charming as any other in the World. His brother, Brendon, was also known as the pure black devil. Having a sulky look on his face, that's what makes him hot and cool! The two contrast well together." Beatrice's personality changed in a split second. "I AM IN LOVE!"

Kaitlyn was speechless.

"OH crap, Beatrice. We're late for Latin! Quick!" Bernice grabbed her sister by her arm and rushed off. "Buhbye, Kaitlyn! Tiffany, and Raye!"

Beatrice bowed slightly. "Bye." She smiled.

Kaitlyn was amused. _What an interesting pair of sisters, _Kaitlyn thought to herself and they made their way to the canteen. Kaitlyn and Tiffany chatted happily while Raye just followed at the back. His eyes staring intently at her back. Kaitlyn felt self-conscious.

"Kat, I am so proud of you, you totally pawned her!" Tiffany laughed out loud about Deborah. "But… About the posters, do you think it's…?"

Kaitlyn knew what Tiffany wants to say. "No, no. Let's not accuse anyone."

Kaitlyn grabbed a potato salad and a huge portion of Chinese food that she loved. Tiffany and Kaitlyn walked to an empty seat at the side, with Raye still tailing behind, ignoring the intense stares given by the entire canteen. Kaitlyn accomplished by ignoring them.

When lunch finally ended, they are to proceed to the different classes again.

"Sorry," Raye apologized. "Sorry that I can't accompany you to Felix's classes. Please, be careful."

Kaitlyn felt her heart skipped a beat. _What is this? _She thought. She hasn't felt this way since a month after Chris and her dated. Her heartbeat increased a great deal. Her cheeks are getting hotter. "I will, thanks." She looked away.

Raye left. Kaitlyn calmed herself down, and her heart.

"Next is Literature!" Tiffany exclaimed dreamily.

Kaitlyn started fumbling around her bag. "Why do you sound so happy?"

"It's the new teacher, Kaitlyn!"

Kaitlyn barely shrugged. "I just had a bad feeling about him."

"Why not? He's not Howard. At least he's hot!" Kaitlyn barely shrugged. "What are you looking for?" Tiffany eyed her weirdly.

"My copy of Hamlet. I remembered putting it in this morning!"

"Could it be in your locker?" Kaitlyn stopped fumbling. "But… I never went anywhere near that really smelly locker today… Hmm, I shall go take a look. Go before me!" "Ok. Hurry up, the bell will ring in 5 minutes."

Kaitlyn waved and ran. She ransacked her entire sweat-smelling locker and found her copy of Hamlet at the back of the locker.

_How did it get here,_ Kaitlyn wondered.

She picked up her copy and at that exact moment, the bell rang.

"Crap!" Kaitlyn cursed silently under her breath.

In a hurry, Kaitlyn slammed shut her locker door hard and ran, as fast as her legs could bring her, to her classroom. Kaitlyn was too late; Felix had long arrived in the classroom making introductions.

"As everyone already known, I am the new teacher, Felix Silverstein, you can call me Felix."

Knowing this teacher's real identity made Kaitlyn feel uncomfortable, she sure doesn't want to anger him. Sneakily, and quietly, she crawled from the back door to her seat. Fortunately for her, her seat, beside Tiffany, was located somewhere near the back. Tiffany spotted her and was obviously surprised to see Kaitlyn crawling from the back door.

"It's my first time teaching you class, so we shall start with introductions." Felix took a long glance into his clipboard.

Kaitlyn was just a few inches from her seat and she's safe!

"I shall call your name and ask you a few questions about yourself, shall we? Let's see…"

Just a few more steps!

"For example, Kaitlyn Swift!"

"Yes!" Kaitlyn immediately stand up, her copy of Hamlet fell on the floor, and her things in her bag stumbled out, making a mess on the floor.

"Tell me more about yourself. Why are you late?"

He is clearly picking on her already. "I went back to my locker to find my missing copy of Hamlet."

"Hmmm." He hummed, deep in thought. "What a wonderful excuse, Ms. Kaitlyn… Swift. I should come late the next lesson and reuse the same excuse again."

Some girls giggled. Kaitlyn just gritted her teeth.

"I would like to know more about you, like, are you attached?"

"Whoa!" A few guys wolf-whistled.

"No."

"Oh, lying again?" One of those girls who giggled just now spoke, Kaitlyn recognized her as Jane. She and the girls who giggled are with Deborah. "You have a boyfriend named Christopher right? Another loser."

What a GREAT influence.

"Not really, I _had_ a boyfriend, but we broke up. I dumped him. You have a problem with that?"

"Did I hear you wrongly? _You dumped him? _Wasn't it the other way round? Stop making up stories, Swift. We understand." Another girl, supposedly named Sharon, giggled together.

Once again, Kaitlyn just gritted her teeth silently. Her hands are balled into a fist.

"Well, at least this proves that the little cute hunk still has his brains." Another one girl known as Rachelle licked her glossy lips.

"I hoped you little cheerleaders would have that _little _brains Chris has and just leave me alone." Kaitlyn rebutted coolly.

The girls gasped.

"You little bitch!" Jane snarled.

"I suggest you look into the mirror first before calling anyone a bitch."

The girls remained silent after that. Even Kaitlyn was awed by her own courage. Boldly, she tilted her head a little and stared at Felix. She did not avert her stares in any way, and they stayed that way for about three minutes. A sudden slam of the door indicated an interruption; Kaitlyn scowled and turn her head sharply at the disturbance. There stood Brendon Armstrong, his green eyes were full of fear, it was directed at Felix.

"Why… why are you here?" Even his voice reflected the same fears in his eyes.

Felix's blue eyes narrowed into thin slits, "Another latecomer, I see. And what a rude one. I am your new English-Literature counselor, Brendon Armstrong."

Brendon's face was horrified. It didn't take Kaitlyn more than a second to know that Brendon feared Felix. Felix is Brendon's Lord; he obeyed his command. That is how fearful Felix Silverstein is.

"Can I please return to my seat, sir?" Kaitlyn broke the icy silence between them.

"Sure you can, Swift."

Kaitlyn retreated back to her seat faster than lightning. She wondered if anyone else saw it, but Brendon looks like a frightened rabbit facing a tiger. His fears were obvious and left him vulnerable and weak. Brendon was dismissed the same time as Kaitlyn. He returned to his seat, knocking into Kaitlyn's table as he is doing so. Her book dropped onto the ground.

"Sorry!" He apologized.

Kaitlyn could not believe her ears. Brendon apologized. Is he _that _scared of Felix? She bent down to pick up her book when a piece of note dropped out of the book. Kaitlyn don't remember leaving a note in her book ever before. She opened it up. She recognized the neat and tidy handwriting immediately, it's unmistakably Sunny's.

Kaitlyn,

Please meet me at the backstage at 4.44pm today.

I would like to apologize for everything.

Come alone.

Sunny.


	38. Chapter 38

_**Chapter 38:**_

Kaitlyn stepped warily into the backstage room. It was narrow and Kaitlyn had no idea why did Sunny want to meet her at such a weird timing but she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Kaitlyn came early, she still had 14 minutes to 4.44pm. It's dark and the air is eerie, there are mannequins from the drama club, its emotionless face scares Kaitlyn. She explored the area, however, it was better than scaring herself in this dark creepy narrow backstage. A clank of chains startled Kaitlyn out of her wits.

_It's just my imagination... _Kaitlyn told herself, although she know very well that it is not her imagination.

She heard a whisper.

"Sunny?"

"Kaitlyn Swift..." A dark figure loomed above Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn stifled a scream. The dark figure was black, literally. As if it was an emerging living corpse that was thrown into a huge flame. On the stomach, there was a huge hole that Kaitlyn can almost see through, and maggots were living in it. The flesh were almost like it is rotting and the stench it let out was terrible. One of the eye sockets was empty while the other had the eyeball dangling out of it. The horrible gruesome sight made Kaitlyn wants to puke.

"What are you?" Kaitlyn's voice is full of fear.

"It's amazing how you had forgotten your teacher right after you sent someone after me. Swift."

Kaitlyn instantly recognized the tone.

Howard.

"What happened to you?"

"You're asking me! You sent that blonde guy after me, and caused me to stay undead in this corpse."

Blonde? Kaitlyn wondered. Blonde. Blonde. The only suspect will be Felix! Why would he want Howard dead? Unless... Suddenly, everything made sense to Kaitlyn. The dream Kaitlyn had in the hospital is true. It happened. Felix DID blast Howard. Kaitlyn felt really sorry for him.

"I am neither dead nor alive. No one knew where am I. No one knew that I am suffering here, chained forever. My body is dead, but my soul is stuck in this dead body." He made a weird sound that sounded like a sob.

Kaitlyn then noticed the chain that fastened around Howard's rotten leg, limiting the freedom he had. Why did Felix do this?

"I'm sorry, sir," Kaitlyn bit her lips. "But I wasn't the one who sent Felix after you."

"Felix?"

"The guy. He took your place as the English counselor."

A pause.

"I can try and release you. With my powers. Rest in peace, sir."

Kaitlyn closed her eyes and focused on her powers. With all her might, she tried to push Howard's soul out of his body, she knew she succeeded when she heard something knocked on to the ground with a soft smack. Kaitlyn opened her eyes and saw the corpse lying on the ground, and smiled. Glad that she managed to send Howard on his last journey. Out of all these chaos, Kaitlyn almost forgot about Sunny. Kaitlyn checked her watch. It's already 4.43pm. Had Sunny forgotten about their appointment? Then, Kaitlyn's digital watch struck 4.44pm.

"Kaitlyn Swift." Kaitlyn's heart skipped a beat at her name.

She did not even need to turn to know who it was. "Felix."

"How honored." He chuckled.

"Where's Sunny?"

Felix clicked his tongue. "Why do you care about that ungrateful mortal?"

Kaitlyn had an ominous feeling about where this conversation is heading to, but she did not want to give up.

"I ask again," Kaitlyn repeated. "Where is Sunny?" She voiced each word carefully, making it sound threatening enough.

"Are you threatening me?" He sounded amused.

Kaitlyn never broke the stare he had been holding and just kept still and silent.

"My patience is running out," His eyes turned silver, his index finger glowing.

Kaitlyn felt her eyes burning, her insides felt like it was boiling, and her arms tensed up. Power filled up inside her, and her emotions are starting to run out of control.

"Where," Kaitlyn's eyes squinted. "Is Sunny?"

"Oh well," He shrugged, "Why don't you worry for your life first?"

Without any warning, the silver lining that had been aiming at Kaitlyn shot out of Felix's index finger. Kaitlyn barely dodged it and the lining shot past her face, leaving a cut. Kaitlyn felt a trickled of blood oozing from the cut, a sharp pain piercing her cheeks. At the area where Kaitlyn dodged, there is a huge hole that allowed the setting sunlight shone in. Kaitlyn felt really fortunate to be able to dodge it, she can already imagine the hole on her face if she hadn't.

In self-defense, Kaitlyn hastily fired a golden crackling ball towards Felix, however, as expected, it missed. Instead, it hit the wall beside Felix, missed more than just a few inches.

"You're just an amateur, Kaitlyn. Join me, and I will train you." He extended his hands, maybe expecting Kaitlyn to take his hands. "I will make you into the finest Golden Darkness."

Kaitlyn replied with a crackle that struck Felix hands. Felix rubbed his hand in pain. Felix glared with a spark of anger in him.

"Hmmm." Felix hummed. "Since you're going to ignore my good will, you can't blame me for using the hard way."

Kaitlyn expected the next attack and managed to form a shining golden bubble shield around her but it took up almost all of Kaitlyn's energy and left her exhausted. Kaitlyn felt accomplished as she half-expected another shot to bounce off the bubble shield.

What Kaitlyn did not notice, was the major flaw in her almost perfect plan. She least expected Sunny to jump out of nowhere to use her fragile vulnerable body to block off the attack on Kaitlyn.

"No! Sunny!" Kaitlyn screamed, jumping in with her shield to try to save Sunny.

But Kaitlyn was a step later, time slowed down as the lining hit Sunny squarely in her chest right in front of Kaitlyn. Sunny screamed, as her eyes grew wide open. Sunny's body hit the cold cement floor with a soft thud, her chest heaving up and down unsteadily. Kaitlyn ran to Sunny and hugged her tight.

"Sunny, please. Please open your eyes!" Kaitlyn sobbed and pleaded.

Sunny's eyelids fluttered, her hazel eyes piercing right into Kaitlyn. Tears dropped from Kaitlyn's eyes onto Sunny's tank top.

"I'm sorry…" Sunny muttered in pain.

"No…" Kaitlyn could hardly talk between her sobs. "I am."

"Kaitlyn… I should be, I made an exchange with the Devil." She took in deep unsteady breaths.

Kaitlyn put a finger to Sunny's lips. "Enough." She sobbed uncontrollably. "Enough, Sunny, no more. Talk no more."

Sunny coughed out blood. "Kaitlyn." Sunny's voice weak but firm. "I do not have anymore time. I will not be able to live through this. I know it, I just. So, just listen."

Kaitlyn hate to agree, but she has the hunch that if she does not let Sunny talk now, she will have no more chances. Kaitlyn wept.

"I am sorry. I made a deal with the Devil, and intended to exchange your life for my mom's. I am sorry." Sunny's eye ducts twinkled. "I didn't mean to. I love you guys dearly; I didn't know what got into me, I am terribly sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay already. I forgive you."

Relief rushed over Sunny's features. She shut her eyes, her breathing stabled until it finally stops. A tear dripped down Sunny's cheek, leaving a trail as it trickled.

Kaitlyn placed Sunny down gently on the ground, and regard the man that killed Sunny, and almost killed her. Kaitlyn shot him a glare, full of daggers, hoping that it will kill.

"You killed her."


	39. Chapter 39

_**Chapter 39:**_

Felix looked kind of caught off guard, but it was only for a second. He snickered, and lifted his hands to his chest as if to pull out an arrow stuck to his chest.

"Ouch, Golden Darkness, that hurts."

Kaitlyn felt the anger flaring up in her. "How dare you act like nothing happened right after you killed Sunny?"

"I didn't kill her, she jumped out of nowhere and _protected _you. That's why she died. If anyone is a murderer, it's you, Kaitlyn Swift."

Kaitlyn knew that is not true, still deep inside; guilt is weighing her down. Summoning all her powers, she directed it at Felix, venting all her anger in that one golden ball. She broke down and stumbled to the floor. Kaitlyn's energy was only that little, it was not enough to take down Felix, in fact, it only managed to hit Felix on his right shoulder and Kaitlyn can only see it hurts, and that the side had been burnt badly.

Felix's eyes narrowed into slits, his lips pursed into a thin line, but the beauty of his is still there, even though his face features knitted into one big frown. It was so sudden when he threw back his head and laughed. That startled Kaitlyn. With eyes cold and emotionless, Felix fired an electrifying silver blast at Kaitlyn that purposely missed her by inches. It hit the floor right beside Kaitlyn, it caused a huge hole, and although it was missed by inches, the blast still affected Kaitlyn. Her entire body numbed and electrified as the sparks from the blast hit her a little.

"Do not mess with me, Golden Darkness." Felix's voice was low and commanding. "You're too complacent."

Kaitlyn glared. "I can tell everyone. You can't silence me."

"Oh really?" His voice returned to the usual amused tone. "Go ahead, Golden Darkness. Who do you think they would believe? A licensed teacher, or an infamous liar?"

Everything finally made sense. Kaitlyn doubted the wrong person.

"You were the one. The one who put up the posters." Kaitlyn blamed herself, she should have known better.

Kaitlyn's eyes were tearing up.

"Took you long enough,"

Kaitlyn lay on ground, rooted. The guilt in her increased weighing her down more than ever. Felix's lips curled up into a smirk. He fired another blast on the other side of Kaitlyn. This time, it hit Kaitlyn on her arm. It burns. Kaitlyn moved her handout of the way, but it was numbing her body, causing her to lose her balance.

Kaitlyn felt her arm burning, the sensation burnt through her entire body system. Kaitlyn took in big gulps of air, and having difficulties breathing, she's hyper ventilating. A short loud gasp, other than her own, was heard. Kaitlyn whirled her head around and saw Bernice and Beatrice standing right outside the door.

Bernice's eyes widened with fear when she saw Sunny's body, and her hands to her mouth, Beatrice's hands trembled badly. Kaitlyn was afraid, afraid that Felix will harm them. Kaitlyn probably was easy for Felix to penetrate through.

"Run!" Kaitlyn warned, "Tell anybody, but just run! Go!"

Bernice nodded hesitantly, and immediately took off her heels faster than expected but she suddenly retreated, someone was forcing her back. Deborah Miller.

"No, you little mortals, no." Deborah blocked Bernice's way.

Kaitlyn watched in horror as Felix extended two strands of gooey silver-black tentacles towards Bernice and Beatrice. They screamed. The loud piercing scream that rang in her ears.

"Let them go, Felix!" Kaitlyn cast another unexpected golden ball at Felix.

However, it was all Kaitlyn has. The ball was so weak that Felix did not even budge; he brought the two screaming girls closer towards him. Kaitlyn constantly screamed for Felix to let them go, but her screams only fall on deaf ears. Bernice and Beatrice struggled as the tentacles tightened around their tiny fragile body. Kaitlyn could almost hear their ribs breaking under the tentacles grasp.

Kaitlyn soon caught sight of a streak of purple electric spark spreading through the left tentacle gripping to Bernice. It all happen within a split second, Bernice didn't even have time nor the strength to scream before her body hang onto the tentacle limply.

"Bernice!" Kaitlyn screamed as the same time as Beatrice screamed no.

Beatrice stopped struggling; she only stared after Bernice's body, which landed right beside Kaitlyn when the tentacle let go. Kaitlyn staggered towards Bernice, her hands numb and the room darkened as night arrived, making it almost impossible to see anything.

"Bernice?" Kaitlyn murmured softly.

She sensed no movement, she could hear Bernice's heavy breathing.

"What did you do to my sister?" Beatrice demanded.

On one hand, Kaitlyn admired her courage, on the other hand, Kaitlyn worried for Beatrice's safety.

"Nothing." His usual smirk. "All I did was to poison her with some electrical shock. It is spreading her pathetic mortal veins." He mentioned the word, _mortal_, with his face screwed up in disgust. "It will let her sleep. _Forever."_

Kaitlyn lips quivered.

"What… are you saying…?" Beatrice's voice exposed her fears.

That only encouraged Felix. Beatrice's eyes never left Bernice's lifeless empty shell. What happened to her hyper sister, is now just an empty shell. Kaitlyn sensed a tear down Beatrice's red cheeks.

"What I'm saying is that, your sister will be in coma, forever. If she's lucky, a prince will come by 100 years later and give her a wake up kiss, but that's just a_ stupid mortal fairytale, _Darling. She will. Never. Wake. Up." He mocked.

Beatrice let out a sob.

"Look at me, mortal." Felix commanded.

"As if." Beatrice muttered. "You demon."

"_You'll be under my spell, and my wish is your command. You cannot rebel, as you do as I demand." _Felix chanted.

"What…" Kaitlyn watched as Felix chant.

Beatrice fell into a truce, she looked up and met Felix's silver eyes. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Beatrice?" Kaitlyn yelled in horror, "Beatrice wake up! What the hell did you do to Beatrice, Felix? Let her go!"

"You shall run to someone, anyone, and tell them to call for an ambulance, however, you shall tell no one what had happened. _You cannot disobey." _Felix's voice menacing.

"Yes, my Lord…" Beatrice sighed dreamily; the pupils in her eyes became diluted.

"Should you disobey, _drop dead._" Felix smirked.

"No… No. No. No. No!" Kaitlyn knew that the back was not a joke, not a sentence.

It's a curse.

Felix let go of the tentacle and Beatrice dropped on the floor. She ran.

"Deborah, go with her."

Deborah bowed and went after Beatrice.

"What did you do to her?" Kaitlyn kept her eyes on Felix. H didn't return her gaze, he merely cast the bodies a disgusted look.

"I compelledher. I cursed her. I bound her." Felix snapped his fingers, and finally looked at Kaitlyn. "I can teach you how, just join my side."

"No. Never. Not after what you did to my friends."

He just did his usual thing. "Whatever. You will eventually."

Kaitlyn turned sharply, but she didn't get a chance to ask him what it means. "Armstrong." He muttered and Kaitlyn noticed the presence of Brendon. Raye was right; Brendon is on the evil side.

Both of them went to a side and talk in very low voices that Kaitlyn could barely hear over the loud sudden commotion outside the hallway. After a long few minutes, Felix disappeared, leaving Kaitlyn and Brendon behind to clean up the mess he created.

"I'm sorry, Kaitlyn." He got closer.

His hands to her lips, a small circle of Bronze light. Nothing happened, or that's what Kaitlyn thought. The cops came, and confined the entire area. Kaitlyn was distracted as the cops escort her out. They interrogated her and Brendon, who is supporting Kaitlyn by her shoulder. However, she was unable to speak the truth. In fact, the moment she tried to open her mouth to say the truth, nothing came out.

"I will speak for her." Brendon spoke for Kaitlyn, "Our teacher, Felix Silverstein, sent the five of us to the back storage room to get some props for our Literature play. And, we stumbled across this black figure and Sunny… She…" Brendon pretended to choke.

Lies, lies, lies! _It's all lies!_

"She got a sudden heart attack, and in attempt to call for an ambulance, Bernice tripped and hit her head. And… and… Beatrice stunned for a moment, went and gets somebody. Is Bernice…?" Brendon looked genuinely afraid but Kaitlyn knew it was all just a lie.

_No, an evil lord did it! He killed Sunny, shocked Bernice and cursed Beatrice. He was also the one who killed Howard for his position. That evil Lord took off and left his mess to his evil disciple! What he said was all just a lie! _Was what Kaitlyn wanted to scream.

"I'm sorry dear, I have no idea. Those are up to the hospital staffs." The female cop shook her head sadly, gave Kaitlyn a small tap on the shoulder and walk off.

Kaitlyn slapped Brendon's hands away from her shoulder and stepped away strongly. Brendon lifted his hands as if he was surrendering.

"Chillax!"

"Chillax? _Chillax?" _Kaitlyn's voice shivering with anger. "Seriously, Brendon? You tell me to chillax after all that your Evil Lord of the Dark killed my friends and destroy my peace?"

Brendon's eyes shone bronze and with an ungodly fast speed, pushed Kaitlyn to a wall, his arm on her neck. "_Do not speak of my Lord that way, _Golden Darkness, or I'll…"

"You will what?" Kaitlyn could no longer control her emotions. "Kill me, Brendon? Go ahead. You can't. You know you can't, Brendon. Because, deep inside, you still have your humanity and you know that, if I want, _I can kill you even while doing my nails._"

Brendon's bronze eyes widened with fear, and anger but Kaitlyn never back off. She can feel her eyes turning Golden. Brendon's eyes slowly regained his emerald green. "Okay, okay. You won. Kaitlyn. You won."

"Kaitlyn!" Kaitlyn heard Raye, but her eyes are still with Brendon.

Raye pulled Kaitlyn away from Brendon, whose smug face is smirking. "What are you doing to her, Brendon?"

"Nothing, brother, nothing. If I did anything, I won't be here talking to you. Because, _I know that, if she wants, the Golden Darkness can kill me even while doing her nails._" He quoted, and he chuckled. A laugh coming deep from his throat.

Kaitlyn felt Raye's glare behind her, aiming at Brendon. "I will never forgive you Brendon, if you lay a finger on Golden Darkness."

His emerald green eyes widened to a fake surprised. "Oh really, brother. Golden Darkness. Not Kaitlyn Swift?"

Raye's body flinched. Kaitlyn felt it against the wrist that Raye was gripping.

"Both." He replied after a short while.

"Don't worry about Kaitlyn Swift, I'm not interested. However," He fading off, "I'm interested in the Golden Darkness." And he disappeared.

The paramedics caught the attention of Kaitlyn. She turned, and saw them carrying Howard's and Sunny's body out of the school. Each with a white clothe over their body. Kaitlyn let out a sob. Next, Bernice was being brought out. Fortunately, there was no clothe over her, but an oxygen mask proved the seriousness of Bernice's condition.

Beatrice was beside Bernice, sobbing helplessly when the paramedics led her sister's limp body into the ambulance. Kaitlyn ran to her side, and placed a hand on Beatrice's shoulder.

"Beatrice, I'm sorry…"

Beatrice's reaction towards her hand was strong, she rejected it strongly by slapping it away hard, and retreated away from Kaitlyn. Like she was some kind of monster.

And she still is.

"Don't ever touch me with those filthy hands of yours. Kaitlyn." She did not scream nor shout, she just whispered. And yet, those words deafened Kaitlyn's ears. "You're one of Them. I saw it. The blast of light you shot at him, at Felix. Why? Why must you involve us in your pathetic conflict?"

"No…" Kaitlyn murmured desperately. "No, I'm not one of Them…"

"Who are you, exactly, Kaitlyn? _What_ are you?" Beatrice's grief was written all over her face. "No, please, just leave me alone. Don't ever come near me anymore. Bernice might never wake up anymore, _are you happy now?_" Beatrice walked off.

Kaitlyn stared after Beatrice; Raye turned her around, and wrapped his arms around Kaitlyn. She buried her face in the white blazer he was wearing, that made him look really dashing, and cried her heart out. She probably cried a whole ten minutes, never leaving Raye's embrace, one that made her feel safe. Kaitlyn finally stopped. Raye lifted Kaitlyn's face.

"You're really beautiful, Kaitlyn, even when crying." With that, he leaned forward and their lips met with a gentle kiss.

At that moment, the time froze just for them.


	40. Chapter 40

_**Chapter 40:**_

Raye love the feeling of Kaitlyn's lips on his. His head felt light, and he couldn't feel his legs anymore, it was as though he's flying. His pathetic crush on the Goddess is nothing compared to this. It was a familiar feeling, as if he felt this way towards Kaitlyn before, as if the feelings found its way back to his heart. Time fast forward when Kaitlyn rejected Raye by pushing him away. Her face was blank. Emotionless.

"I'm sorry." She looked up at him, straight in his face. "I'm not yet ready for this."

Raye did not say anything. The air between them was heavy.

Kaitlyn blushed, "I'm sorry…" She hastily apologized and ran off.

Raye thought about it carefully. Once again, he only saw her back as she runs. Her blonde hair flying behind her, it captivated her and took his breath along with her. Raye turned and made a portal to the Light Academy.

It took him less than a minute. He's now knocking on the Goddess's chamber softly. "It's Raye."

"Enter." The warm voice of the Goddess filled him.

"What's the matter?" She looked at Raye with her piercing blue eyes.

Raye took a deep breath, and reported everything to Nadine, every single thing, leaving out the kiss.

"Thank you, Raye. Please continue protecting the Golden…"

"No…" Raye mumbled.

"Eh?" Nadine blinked her eyes. "What… did you just say?"

"I won't." Raye's voice became louder, with more confidence. "I will stop protecting the Golden Darkness."

The Goddess blinked her eyes as if she could not believe it. "Raye, what are you talking about?"

"I won't protect the Golden Darkness, Nadine. I will protect Kaitlyn Swift." He glanced up without averting his gaze. "Not as a knight. But as Raye Armstrong. I will protect her out of my own will, not under your commands anymore."

Nadine smiled, her eyes full of kindness. "Sure."

Raye left the room, politely and silently.

Nadine's expression changed the moment she sensed Raye out of her radar. She knew Felix often love to do things his own way, but this is getting out of line. 2 people died because of what he desired, what he wanted to obtain, and here she is, feeling pathetically useless. A loud crash outside of her chamber startled her, she stood out and decided to go out and find out what the commotion is about.

The door creaked softly when she opened it. It's dark outside. She flickered on the lights with her mind. The hallway is eerie and strange. It doesn't look like the Light Academy's corridor and there are soft murmurings. Nadine finally sensed that something is wrong, and looked back. The door to her chamber is gone!

Nadine switched to her battle mode and she took each step discreetly towards the murmurings. But a familiar voice at the back took her attention more than the murmurings.

"Welcome," Felix's voice echoed down the eerie hallway, "to Dark Academy."

Nadine turned violently towards his voice. She is being surrounded by at least a dozen Dark Academy students. She don't stand a chance against Felix, she's at the losing end. Instead, she let her guard up.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I did not. Your desire did." Nadine resisted every urge in her body telling her to smack that smug face of his.

"I don't care. Bring me back, Felix. Now." Her voice demanded, hopefully as demanding as she thought.

"How rude of me, sister, I hadn't treat you to anything since you came."

Nadine sensed danger and threat in his words. She stared at him, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. Instead, a small girl placed a tray of cookies and a cup of green tea by the small coffee table, that wasn't there the last time she remembered. Nadine could see how afraid the girl was with the shaking cup of tea. She's shivering. After placing it down, she immediately hurried back and disappeared. Nadine picked up the tea suspiciously.

"Don't worry, I didn't poison the drink. You can test it if you want."

"Sure." Nadine pursed her lips together and smiled.

With a finger, she pointed at the cup of green tea, and twirl, mumbling a chant.

"_With this spell,  
I can tell,  
any buried desire,  
will then backfire." _

Felix smirked as Nadine drank the tea warily. Unexpectedly, it was still peaceful. Nadine kind of expected Felix to drop dead on the floor after her but still, nothing happened. Nothing except a soft sob from the petite girl, Nadine let out a sigh of relief.

"Brother…" Nadine guarded every small movements Felix made, including scratching of his head.

"Nadine," Felix looked genuinely tired. "Can we just end all of this?"

That was more than a little unexpected, it's a miracle! Nadine didn't even dare of dream of this. "Yes… Yes, of course we can."

Felix threw his head back and laughed. Nadine found it weird. "Sister, you're too naïve, do you not know me? Would I ever say that?"

Nadine felt like Felix just smack a huge boulder onto her, crashing her down.

"Maybe…" Nadine didn't dare to get too hopeful. "if you give the Golden Darkness up to me, sister, by then everything will end."

"No, brother, never. Not now, not in the future. Why do you even want the Golden Darkness?"

"Then why…" Felix interrupted in immediately after Nadine finished her question, "do you want her?"

"To stop you!"

"Stop me? It's impossible," Felix chuckled again. "I want the power. I dream of it, I longed for it, I lust for it, sister. Imagine what I can do with the power!"

"You're corrupted!" Nadine yelled.

Preparing to blast off a silver electrical ball towards Felix, Nadine stepped forward. Yet, before she could even struck a blow onto her own brother, an agonizing pain spread within her body. She screamed. Or rather something that she thought was hers, but it wasn't. The petite girl screamed even louder. Nadine realized.

"What did you do to her?" Nadine groaned in pain, "and the tea?"

"I spelled your tea, not any major work. All I did was to spread my elements, using the tea, throughout your body, and torture you. You can't die from it. But the pain will be so excruciating that you wants to die." Felix stroked his own hair, "But the one doing the job is not me, but her. And knowing you, my sister, you'll definitely do a backfire spell, thus I used her. As expected, you went according to my plan, and I can inflict pain on me, and it won't backfire on me. What a wonderful plan, don't you think?"

"You jerk." Nadine could barely make out the words, the pain is spreading within her, and she felt lightning numbing her, fire burning her insides. It was a horrible feeling. Nadine stumbled on the ground, shaken. The girl is already crutching her stomach, falling over, screaming, yelling, and crying. Nadine had no idea. She even doubled up the pain with the spell with the girl.

"My… Lord. Please… Stop…" The girl uttered with heavy breath.

"Shut up, Jane." And he burnt up the left arm of Nadine, which was only illusion, but on the girl, it was real fire. She screamed, the fire didn't spread, it just stay on her left arm until it turned black.

Felix turn his attention back to Nadine. "Negotiating is no use, sister. I thought we had long pass the mindset of negotiating?" Felix tapped his fingers on the wall next to him impatiently. "Whatever, how about you join us, the Dark Academy? We could be so much stronger that Golden Darkness cannot compare, and I can let you have a small share of the power of Golden Darkness, if you want, sister."

"No… way." Nadine coughed. She is already on the verge to collapse and awaits her death. However, she knew Felix might take the chance to kill her, if possible, and Light Academy will lose its head mistress and things will be chaotic.

"Fine, anything you want, sister." Mysterious cuts start appearing on Nadine's hands and legs, which stung. Jane, the petite girl, kept screaming in pain. Until, she dropped over.

Felix gave her a brief glance. "Is she dead? Oh, wait, she's already dead."

One of the Dark Academy student scurried over to the petite girl's small size body. "Jane…" She muttered softly, her hands shivering badly. The moment her hand touched the small body, it reduced to ashes. What left of her was a black skeleton.

"Aww." Felix smiled creepily. "She disintegrated."

"What did you do with… her?" Nadine panted.

"She…" He looked up, as if searching for a good word but couldn't. "died. I bet you'd never see how a student dies when they're already dead? They disintegrated. It happens all the time here." Felix then looked at the girl, who might be a friend of Jane, "This is what happens when you become defiant openly, Sharon, I've told you to stop bothering the Golden Darkness, didn't I?"

"But Deborah said…"

"Who's your lord, Sharon? Deborah or me?" Felix's eyes turned silver.

"You, my Lord."

"Good that you know."

Sharon scream.

"Bring her to the underground dungeon. As for Deborah, I'll deal with her personally."

"No, please don't, my Lord. No!" Sharon screamed, but Felix paid completely no attention to her. Her voice fading as the other students had to drag her away forcefully. She placed up a good fight.

"Understand why my students are so disciplined now, sister? I taught them well."

"You're not teaching, you're torturing…!" A sharp pain pierced through her arms and legs.

"You DO know that you're in my territory, don't you? I'm stronger here than you, usually, and exceptionally stronger in my own territory. You can't really defy me here. This may be an illusion, but I can still hurt you."

"Illusion?"

"This is not real. Your soul in Dark Academy, but your body is still in Light Academy." Felix sneered, torturing Nadine more than ever. Nadine felt as if she is going to rot on the inside. She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from screaming, from succumbing to Felix's goal.

_Somebody, help me. _Nadine thought of these three words, screaming it in her head. However, the headache Felix created is making her hard to think.

"My lady? Nadine?" Nadine is losing herself soon, Felix and the Dark Academy is getting blurry. Lastly, she gave in. She can't take it, the next moment; she's on the floor of the Light Academy hallway surrounded by her concern students. She groaned in pain as she struggled to sit up. Her fair white skin became bloody; her head felt heavy, and her body protested in pain. Raye attempted to help her, but she shrugged off his help. She knew of Raye's crush on her previously, She can't let her indecisiveness and weakness make his heart waver. But he seemed hurt by her actions.

She panted. "Bring me to my room."

Raye escorted her back. She lay on her bed and dismissed him. "Take care of Kaitlyn well. Felix's not to be trifled with."

Raye gave her a look before leaving out her chamber. Nadine shut her eyes, and rest. It was peace for half an hour until Nadine sensed a strange, unfamiliar presence in her room. She sat up immediately, pain shot to every part of her body, but she ignored it.

"Who is it?" She shouted to someone sitting on her huge window still.

"It's not too long, Nadine, have you forgotten about me?"

Light flickered on, it had been a long time since she saw those navy blue hair, now that it's long and wavy, no longer shoulder-length. The warm, lovely emerald green eyes sparkled in the dark, just like Raye's. She became more beautiful.

"Elizabeth." Nadine muttered. "No…"

"Evelyn." The woman smiled.


	41. Chapter 41

_**Chapter 41:**_

Sunny woke up groggily, and immediately, an overwhelmed feeling of fear awoke her completely. She is alone, in this completely blank place. An image flashed in front of her. The faces in the screen were grief-stricken, and really familiar. It took Sunny a moment, but she finally recognized it. It were her brother and…

Her mom.

Skinnier, and more fragile, her mom sat at the wheelchair, crying hard beside a small bed with a white cloth covered object. Her brother too, his face was horrible, his eyes were red, and he had his hands over her mom's shoulder. Sunny extended her hands to the images, but her hands passed through. She saw how her mom coughed and sobbed at the same time, how her brother cried like she never see before. The picture was heartbreaking.

"Mom!" Sunny screamed.

_Why are they crying? _Sunny wondered. _Why can't they hear me? Why can't I touch them? What is happening? _

"Sunny Smith." A voice startled Sunny, driving her attention away from the images. She didn't hear this lady at all. She had a pair of headphones around her neck, and her hair was highlighted. She looks more teenager. She's wearing a pair of pink skinnies that mismatched with her green tank top, but Sunny made no comments. "Before your trial, I'm going to explain how everything works."

"Wait, wait." Sunny interrupted. "What trials?"

"Academy trials. I'm going to explain all that now. But," She paused, and gave Sunny a hard sympathetic look. "first things first, I need to tell you something important, and I'm pretty sure that you have no idea what it is."

"What…" Sunny was terribly confused by this girl's words.

"This is going to be hard to take it, but you're dead."

"_I'm dead?" _Sunny chuckled. "What kind of joke are you playing?"

The girl groaned. "Like I said, this is going to be hard to accept, but you're seriously _dead."_

"No…" Sunny's voice quivered. "You're lying."

"I'm not. It's all in the records." Mysteriously, a macbook was manifested. "Look," She showed it to Sunny. "It's all there in black and white."

"_Name: Sunny Smith,  
Age: 15  
Reason of death: Un-natural death.  
Time of death: around 4.44pm to 5pm."_

"This is all wrong. I'm not supposed to be dead yet!" Sunny screamed as the words absorbed into her brain slowly. "I'm only _fifteen! _My time is not supposed to be up yet. Please check, did you make a mistake?"

"I'm sorry to tell you, Sunny Smith, but you're dead. Accept it. I'm here to explain the rules, not to listen to your crap." The girl muttered softly, obviously pissed. "In the trials later, you will be choosing between two academy – Light and Dark Academy. These are academies that only accepts students above the age of 3 and below 20, and you must die only under the circumstances that your death is unnatural or suicidal."

"What do you mean by _unnatural?"_ Sunny asked.

"It means, you're killed, murdered, by people from the Other World. Basically, students from this World. Anyway, that's all. You get to choose. Anyway, if your death is unnatural, you get to move on, if you're lucky that is. Only 2 students every century gets to move on. And if your death is suicidal, you'll be confined here forever. That is the punishment."

Sunny slumped against the white wall, "I can't die yet. I'm only fifteen… I can't possibly die… What happened to me?"

"_You're only fifteen? _FYI, I'm only nineteen. No one here has their time up; no one here wants their life to end. But what can we do? You have juniors as young as 3 years old here, and you say you're only fifteen and you shouldn't die _yet?_" Her tone was harsh. "Accept it already, you're dead. It's useless to run away. Reality will catch up real fast." She clicked her tongue, walking away.

_Why do I have to die? _Sunny sobbed at her ill fate.

It was only a while and her trials started. She stood stupidly in the middle while the representative of the two academies stood out. Sunny's jaws dropped as she screamed. "_Brendon and Raye Armstrong!" _They weren't as surprised as her to see each other here. Sunny has thousands of question whirling inside her head, making her dizzy. "Why are they here? Why are they from different academy? What academy do I choose?"

The lights went off suddenly, Sunny's mind is confused. She was almost shocked by her own calmness until a deep voice spoke. "Silence."

The voice boomed and the whole place shook. Sunny's calm demeanor broke, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She's afraid. Afraid of this sudden appearance of the shadows. Sunny's gaze locked with Brendon's, and she fell to the ground. Memories flooding her head. How she made a deal with the devil, how guilty she felt, and how she saved Kaitlyn and died in her stead, she remembered it all.

"No!" She cried as the memories flowed back quickly, almost splitting Sunny's head into half. She shivered in fear. Felix. Kaitlyn. Deborah. Tiffany. Jeremy. She wants her life back. She hates Deborah.

She hates Felix.

"_Stand." _The shadow spoke.

Sunny barely followed as her knees quivered together, making her lose her balance twice. The shadow spoke, and did introductions of what the headphone girl told her briefly.

"_Sunny Smith," _Brendon's voice, for some reason, managed to creep its way into Sunny's mind. "_You're useless to Lord Felix. It was a simple deal that would have benefitted you, and yet you choose to die. You choose to protect the Golden Darkness. You chose death than the wonderful deal to save your mom. You would be of no use to Lord Felix. Don't ever choose Dark Academy. Trash belongs to the garbage. Useless people should go to an useless academy. I… The Lord… We… have no use for you. At all." _

Brendon's words stung. He ended at the right time the shadow boomed _choose. _Sunny never break the gaze with Brendon. "I've decided." She confidently answered, her eyes still on Brendon. "I'll go to…"

Silence fell.


	42. Chapter 42

_**Chapter 42:**_

Kaitlyn stood near Sunny's coffin, without a word, she saw her own tears wet the beautiful white lilies placed above Sunny's lifeless body. Sunny's eyes were shut, closed, and never open again. Her lips will never speak to Kaitlyn ever again; Sunny will never laugh that light, hearty laugh of hers.

Kaitlyn's knees were weak, but she stayed strong, as her eyes never left Sunny's body. Any memories of her and Sunny flashed in her mind. Kaitlyn fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Grief, remorse and depression covered her like a choking blanket, suffocating her.

"I say give me her life insurance money, Jennet." A hoarse man voice yelled.

"No, Please, Kevin! Those are Sunny's funeral money! Not for you to gamble away Please!" Mrs. Smith, Sunny's mum pleaded.

Kaitlyn stood out to see what's the commotion about. Mrs. Smith and another man, supposedly Mr. Smith, were arguing. Mrs. Smith was crying badly, her hands holding onto a huge envelope that Mr. Smith was trying to snatch. Kaitlyn heard from Sunny that her father was an alcoholic gambler. But, to no extent would Kaitlyn expect him to actually take his daughter's life insurance money to gamble.

"Let go, Jennet, I need this money! I know Lady Luck is shining on me. Please, I'll earn twice this amount back."

"That's what you say _every time. _I believed you all these times, but no, not today! Let go, Kevin."

Mr. Smith jerked his arm away from Mrs. Smith. "Let go, you hag!" He jerked so violently that it caused her wheelchair to overturn and to let her fall onto the ground. Mrs. Smith cried in pain, not because of the physical pain she felt, but pain for Sunny's money. Kaitlyn could not handle this anymore.

"Excuse me," She squeezed through the nosey crowd, trying to go towards the arguing couple and help.

Mr. Smith looked at the huge crowd formed and looked embarrassed. Angrily, he stomped off the moment Kaitlyn reached the front of the crowd. She thought she was too late until help arrived. Jeremy stood out, and gripped to his father's wrist tightly. His auburn hair, like Sunny's, shone beautifully in the Sun. His eyes are a deep dark brown. He resembles Sunny so much that it's painful to look at him.

"No one runs away after bullying my mom." He stated as he twist Mr. Smith wrist, who yelled in pain.

"How dare you do that to your father, you disrespectful bastard."

"Who is my father?" Jeremy growled furiously, boiling with rage. "Since when do you act like a father, a husband? When mom was suffering in the chemotherapy, and sis and I are in school, where were you? When mom and I went to the morgue to identify sis, where were you? You were probably hanging around women that can be your daughter, or gambling away our hard-earn money. When was the last time you saw us siblings? I bet you never notice that I'm finally taller than you. I used to be the weak boy that heeds your words like a dog. But the current me is younger, stronger, taller and more powerful than you, I'll no longer be your dog. Also, now that sis is gone, instead of coming to actually see her for the last time, you came to get her _insurance money. _Are you _fugging_ _serious?_ And you actually dare to call yourself my father," He turned to Mrs. Smith, "Her husband? _You're not fit to be one._ _Get lost, and never come back. Ever. Again."_

Mr. Smith was caught off guard. He stood there, gaping at his son. Slowly, his face flushed with embarrassment and anger, he glares at his son, and threw the envelope in Jeremy's face. "Hey!" Kaitlyn yelled out, finally standing out. Mr. Smith glared again and left in a huff. The crowd dispersed and Jeremy helped his mom up the wheelchair.

"You're Sun's friend, Kaitlyn, right? You've grown into a beautiful woman now." Mrs. Smith smiled, hugging the envelope tightly.

"Yes." Kaitlyn nodded, as her heart swell at the sight of Mrs. Smith. She's so brave, and earned Kaitlyn's admiration. "Thank you, Mrs. Smith." Kaitlyn attempted to walk off before she breaks down into tears. However, Mrs. Smith stopped her.

"Leave us for a moment, Jer."

"Ok. Be careful." Jeremy made no eye contact with Kaitlyn at all.

"It's been a long time, and he's already a handsome young man." Kaitlyn smiled. "How are you, Mrs. Smith?"

"I'm fine, but I know that my remaining days are not long." The weak old lady smiled, pushing her wheelchair closer, her kindly eyes bored into Kaitlyn's. "Oh yes," Mrs. Smith dipped her hand into the envelope and took out another pink envelope, handing it to Kaitlyn. "I found this among Sun's belongings. I believe this is for you. She wanted you to read this."

Kaitlyn hesitantly took it, her name was written in full at the top right hand side. Mrs. Smith smiled, and left Kaitlyn on her own, giving her enough privacy to read a letter from her former best friend. Kaitlyn recognized Sunny's small neat handwriting. Slowly, she reads:

_Dear Kaitlyn,_

_If you're reading this letter, it probably means that I'm dead. I hope you're not blaming yourself for my death because this letter proved that I'm mentally prepared for my up-coming death. I'm sorry, Kat, for everything I've done to inflict that extreme pain on you. I had no idea of all these things you have to go through, and yet, I still treated you so horribly nowadays. Forgive me. _

_I've made a regrettable choice of striking a deal with the devil. I wanted to exchange your life for my mom's. I should've known better. My mom would not be happy with her long life if she knew her daughter actually committed a murder indirectly. I felt really guilty. I really wish you would forgive my wrongdoings._

_I wanted to say that you and Tiffany were the best choice I've made in my entire life, and I am really glad to have met you two. You two made my life brighter. You two were the ones that did not judge my by my family background, and made friends with me despite my lousy personality. I'm sorry for actually attempting to make Chris cheat on you. I suck. I was really touched when you stood up for me against Chris that day we kissed. I thought you will be laughing at me for the way Chris treated me, but you didn't. I'm grateful. You two were the reason I lived. _

_I know you and Tiff would be mourning for my death, but there's no need to. I want you guys to be happy for me, because I lived my life to the fullest. I'm happy, and I want you guys to be happy for me. And my mom, I want her to be happy for me too. Her remaining days are gradually decreasing. I want her to, like me, live her life to the fullest and die without regrets. My only regret was not being able to apologize to you. I'm really sorry, Kat, Tiff. I want to tell you a message I haven't been able to convey since our 'big fight'._

_I love you two.  
Best Friends Forever._

_Love,  
Sunny._

Kaitlyn let the tears fell from her eyes as she read the last two lines. A sudden gust of wind blew the letter away from Kaitlyn's hands, and flew against the Sun.

_P.S_

Kaitlyn picked up the paper and hold it against the Sun. Reading the words written in an invisible ink.

_P.S. A word of advice, I believe that you should tell Tiffany about the Golden Darkness business. We're BFFs, and there should be no secrets between us. Remember, trust works both ways._

Kaitlyn reached the small forest behind the church when she finished, her tears run down her cheeks like an open tap. "Sunny, I will never forgive you for leaving so early. I should be the one apologizing, not you. I'm sorry, for involving you into this huge mess. I'm sorry. Will you actually forgive me?" Kaitlyn wept.

"_Yessssss…_" The trees hissed.

"I'll see the World for you, with my eyes. I love you, Sunny. I wished you hadn't left me alone here. _Why? _Don't you love your mom? How could you bear to leave your loved ones here and leave first? I missed you already, Sunny… Please come back." Kaitlyn cried.

"I miss you too, Kat."

Kaitlyn heard Sunny's voice from behind her. Startled, she turned behind abruptly, and could not believe who was standing right in front of her. It was…

Sunny Smith.

Her dead BFF.


	43. Chapter 43

_**Chapter 43:**_

Sunny watched as her best friend's face expression changed from crying to a priceless stunned expression which Sunny would have teased if the situation wasn't grave. Her heart ached as Kaitlyn withdrew from her with her face full of fear.

"Who are you?" Kaitlyn growled.

That was unexpected.

"I'm Sunny Smith."

"You're lying. Sunny died. I saw her died right in front of my eyes," Her voice quivered, "I saw her body just now, just _who are you?"_ Her furrowed eyebrows hinted anger, "Are you Felix? Is this another game of yours?"

"No, I'm really Sunny, Kat." Sunny took a careful step forward.

"She really is Sunny, Kaitlyn." Raye stood out from behind the tree.

Kaitlyn cringed. Sunny could sense the awkwardness between them, but she decided to pry no more. Both of them stood there, silently, refusing to meet each other's eyes. Sunny knew how much courage Raye mustered to stand out and talk to Kaitlyn. She felt helpless. Sunny took this time to take a good look at her friend, something that she had not done in a long time. Compared to the last time she saw her, Kaitlyn looks skinnier and her face grey with fatigue. There are bags under her eyes, and her messy blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail. The most noticeable was her blood-shot eyes.

"Are you really Sunny?" Raye's appearance convinced her. "I demand to know the pass code."

Pass code. It was something Kaitlyn thought up of for verification, she told no one, not even Deborah. She racked her mind for the code. It took her a while, as her mind was still raw from her death. She vaguely remembered the day Kaitlyn suddenly told her about pass code verification, weeks after her major car accident. Her sudden random topic made Sunny laughed, and they came up with one. _What was it again? _She forced herself to remember. _What happened back then?_

"Sunny, we need a pass code verification!" Kaitlyn suddenly stated.

It was so random that Sunny chuckled. "What? What for?"

"Emergency."

Sunny laughed even harder. "Sure." She went along because she thought it was fun. "How about elephant?"

Kaitlyn frowned. "Sunny, I'm serious."

"Okay, I got it already." She laughed. "Giraffe? Tigers?" And she burst out in laughter.

"Sunny, please, be serious. I do not know what is going to happen in the future…"

"What, you mean someone is going to _pretend _to be you and be my friend, oh please, Kaitlyn, be realistic." Sunny interrupted.

"Sunny, please, just for emergency."

Kaitlyn hardly begged, and finally, Sunny got serious. "Fine. What kind of pass code?"

"One that isn't that easy to crack…" Kaitlyn racked her brains.

"How about that day, _our special date_?"

Kaitlyn grinned, "Yes, the day we met."

Together in unison, along with her memories, Sunny mumbled, "194KATMS" _19 April, Kaitlyn and Tiffany Met Sunny. _Their very own pass code.

"It's really is Sunny… I thought we'll never meet again, I thought you were dead." Kaitlyn's tears formed in her sunken eyes. She rubbed her eyes, and stepped forward, wanting to give Sunny a big hug. But it was Sunny who retreated this time. Hurt flickered across Kaitlyn's eyes.

"Why? Are you angry?"

Sunny shook her head briefly. "Look carefully, Kaitlyn, I'm still dead. I did not revive."

It was then Kaitlyn took a long look at Sunny. "You're translucent."

"I'm, more or less, a ghost. A spirit. We can make no physical contact."

Kaitlyn refused to believe it. She extended her hands towards Sunny and it passed through her body. It tickled.

"How come I can see you? What happened when you were dead? Why were you with Raye?"

"I joined Light Academy. I believe Raye told you about the groupings."

"But, I… I can touch him!" She exclaimed frantically. "Why?"

"Kaitlyn, please relax…" Sunny coaxed.

"It's all because I'm a Bronze Darkness, and she's merely a newbie who just joined us." Raye spoke.

"It's a long long story." Sunny muttered.

Sunny dragged her steps behind Raye, as they slowly made their way towards a grand shining tower that is painted gold. It shimmered and shone in the Sun, unlike the other side of the World. The sky was blackish purple, and it emits off a gloomy aura to Sunny. The castle from afar was painted black. It was a long walk from the place where the trials were held. Stood in front of them, was a huge door, probably made from real gold, and looks really heavy. Raye muttered something in a foreign language that Sunny didn't understand and the door opened. It's probably 'open sesame'.

Raye brought her past plenty of other students. They were all wearing a white uniform. All of them stopped whatever they were doing and bowed politely to Raye. He must be someone really important here. Some girls even stared at him as he walked past. Sunny must admit, Raye is pretty good-looking. Sunny was so deep in thought that she didn't realized that Raye stopped and bumped into his back.

"Ouch," She rubbed her nose.

She saw Raye coming face-to-face with two higher looking guard, they're guarding this grand-looking gold-colored cushion door. They each were holding a long sword in their hands.

"The goddess do not want to see any visitors today." One of them stated, not looking at Raye.

"This is an emergency."

"No, we cannot let you in without the goddess's permission."

_Who is the goddess?_

"Even if it concerns the new recruit?"

"Lord Armstrong, despite that, we still cannot let you in. The goddess has a guest and do not want to be disturbed. Please understand, it's our job."

Raye looked really puzzled. Not to mention, he was called a _Lord_. Who exactly is he?

"Is it Raye? He'll be the only exception, allow him access please." The voice was soothing, and sweet. The voice made Sunny drowsy and high. The guards make way for both of them as they enter. Inside the chamber was a beautiful goddess, as from her name. She has dark hair, and really beautiful blue eyes that charmed Sunny despite being the same gender. She has a flawless beauty that will make her the envy of all women.

Raye bowed, and Sunny followed suit. The goddess smiled. "Are you the new recruit?"

"Yes, uh…" Sunny paused, wondering what to call this beautiful goddess.

"My name is Nadine, you can call me Nadine and it's fine with me."

"No, no, I can't. That will be rude of me, goddess." Sunny's head naturally bowed, "I'm Sunny Smith."

"You were the poor girl that was killed by my brother." It wasn't a question but Sunny just nodded. "You poor girl, I decided to give you a choice, honey. You will be the exception, and it will be against the rule. Would you like to have your memories erased?"

Sunny stared at her wide-eyed. _Memories? Erased? Memories of Kaitlyn, of Tiffany, of her mom, her brother, everyone in her life to be erased? _"No. Never. I will never let you erase my memories."

"Yes, sure. We'll follow whatever you wished by, Sunny. However, I want you to know that this is against the rules, I hope you'll let this be a secret."

Sunny nodded. The meeting between her and the goddess was brief. Rumors had that; everyone will only see the goddess once when they were recruited, so Sunny was contented. Sunny smiled stupidly to her until she noticed the hard look Raye was giving the goddess. It's a mixture of confusion, anger, a small bit of affection that almost go unnoticed and sadness.

"Sunny, you're dismissed, however I want you, Raye, to stay, there's someone I would like you to meet." The goddess directed it at Raye. Sunny left. She was curious, but did not want to poke her nose into other's matters. Until then, she found herself wandering aimlessly until she realized that she was at her own funeral, and heard the words of Kaitlyn.

"Kaitlyn," She said, after telling her entire story. "Listen, I want you to tell Tiffany, whatever. From the start of the Golden Darkness business till now. We're BFFs, I want you to trust her."

Kaitlyn gave Sunny a long stare. Before, she reluctantly nodded and a tear that rolled down from her eye shimmered under the Sun, like the beautiful tower of Light Academy. A beautiful tear.


	44. Chapter 44

_**Chapter 44:**_

Brendon was cast across the room the moment he stepped into the High Chamber. He was preparing for it, because he felt the anger emitting from Felix way before he enter the tower, but how did Felix know about his mischief was still a mystery.

Every bones in Brendon's body burned as his body hit the hard wall of Felix's chamber, but the wall did not crack, his bones did. Before Brendon can even let out another groan, he was flung out of the window, the glass broke into pieces and cut into his skin, causing scratches and wounds to bleed. Brendon fell a long way but he did not land, Felix brought him back up to the chamber, another round through the intact glass window, one which Felix repaired quickly. Hanging in the air by invisible vine tightening around his body, Felix cast a ghastly spirit ball that hit through Brendon's body. Burning his flesh, contracting all his internal organs, and piercing into his bones, breaking it into a million pieces and forming all over again. This was the worst punishment ever, known as the 'spirit fist'. The first moment, the victim will feel cold, then hot as if burning, then cold all over again. It was agonizing, even for Brendon. Fortunately, Felix let it stop there, and the invisible vines let go, and Brendon fell right onto the ground, even letting out a groan hurts a lot.

Felix, with his aura slightly relaxed after a long punishment, stepped onto Brendon's ribcage, which literally crack under his weight due to the fragility when the spirit fist pierced through him. "Armstrong, let this be a punishment, there will be no 'next time'. You get it?"

Brendon gave a slight painful nod. His wounds healed miraculously, however, the excruciating pain he just went through remained, the feeling of broken bones, burning flesh and cuts by glasses. He supported himself up.

"Are you alright, honey?" Brendon recognized the disgusting whiny voice.

That figures. That was why Felix found out, it's definitely Deborah who gave him away. There were only two things that Deborah loved, power and herself. She used to follow Brendon around because she was here at Dark academy longer than he is, yet he was a Bronze Darkness before her. To her, he was a useful tool for her to use and become a Bronze darkness. Now that she has it, she cast him aside. Typical.

Deborah saw that he realized, and smiled, "No, honey, I love you, I really do. But I have to save you from thinking that by doing this, Kaitlyn Swift will appreciate, I had to tell the Lord."

Brendon ignored the pain, he felt that he had to say this. "Why drag the Golden Darkness in, Deborah? Beware, karma will soon bite you in the ass." And Brendon walked out without even giving her a glance, he knew that will pissed her off, and that, is his objective. His triumph did not last very long when he saw Felix coming out of a room that was always off-entry. Felix looked really haggard and tired, so much so that he did not notice Brendon behind him.

Brendon knew that he is going to be in so much trouble if he ever enter the room, but his temptation is strong and so overpowering that there's no way to resist the temptation. His hands opened the door before he could stop it. The power in the air was strong and fresh, enticing Brendon in the dark room, until he saw a huge tank of glowing green gooey substance. Brendon froze, his eyes widened, and his pain forgotten. What was in front of him was the worst sight he ever seen. It was a skeletal figure, with thin black-grey hair, and was wearing a red long dress. Parts of the body were charred and rotten, and some were just spiritual. The most horrible part was when it tilted its head in an angle that is impossible for any human and looked at Brendon. The eyes were thin slits and green, like a snake's, and half of the face was scaly. The gruesome sight made Brendon wants to run and throw up, but he stayed.

"Ahh… A newcomer." Its voice was low, and hoarse, almost like an old lady. "It had been a while. Oh, poor you, you're injured." It extended it haggard hand out to Brendon who reluctantly walked closer and took the hand.

"Young, and sweet. What a delicious young man you are." It moaned as its skeletal hand slides up to his head, and grasped the forehead. A splitting pain pierced through his brain, different scenes flashed to his mind, and energy was drained from him. The pain got so much more worse that it felt as if his brain is going to explode into pieces, then he felt a sharp burning sensation on his right arm. He screamed, a muffled scream.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know I fed so much." It smacks its lips. Some of the scales on the face healed, and the spiritual part of the body regained its solid form and became black and charred. "Young men sure are delicious. Even Felix can't give me delicious energy."

_Felix_, the reason to his haggard look, he fed this creature, his energy was drained. Brendon is scared as he looked at the top part of his left arm which was charred like the creature. He covered it with the sleeve of his shirt. Even Lord Felix were toyed with.

"That mark will be forever. A part of you was eaten away by me, young man."

Eaten away… "Hera." _The previous Golden Darkness. _He muttered before he started shivering and shook with fear before he took off away from the room.

"You can never run away from me, Brendon Armstrong, for that mark will be proof." It laughed until the door shut tight. Brendon just run, and never look back to that door, even though the mark burns and hurt. Brendon ran till he went across the Other World, and smack face to face with Kaitlyn before he officially blacked out.


	45. Chapter 45

_**Chapter 45:**_

Kaitlyn froze when she saw Brendon of a sudden. He caught her by surprise when he unexpectedly fell over and landed on her. He was so much heavier than her and she was trapped under him. Raye moved on instinct and effortlessly got Brendon off her as though he weigh like a feather.

"Are you okay?" Sunny asked from a distance.

Kaitlyn helped herself up, and nodded. "What's wrong with him?"

Despite her strong dislike for him, Kaitlyn still can't help but worry for Brendon. He is so pale that his lips are white and she noticed his normal menacing green eyes lose its color before he fainted, literally, on her. His aura was dimming out and he staggered as he walked. His face was horrified as though he's a prey running from its predator. Even his breathing was heavy. Raye's face became grim as he examined Brendon's body.

"He's fatally injured. His energy was drained, half of the bones in his body were broken and healed over again. Also, his temperature is not constant. It rise and fall within a short interval." True enough, when Kaitlyn first placed her hand on Brendon's elbow, he was cold as ice, and a short while, his elbow burned so much that Kaitlyn yelped and jerked her hand back. "The cause of injury can't be cause by other Bronze Darkness, the only level type that can cause these type of injuries are Silver and Golden Darkness. The only suspect will be…"

"Felix…" Sunny completed the sentence calmly.

"How… How could he! Brendon is still his disciple!" Kaitlyn's hatred for Felix increased.

"Felix is heartless, he stops at nothing, he always gets what he wants." Raye's serious look never falters. "But, what could Brendon have done to make Felix this angry?"

"I think I know the answer…" Both Raye and Kaitlyn turned to look at Sunny. "The reason I joined Light Academy was because… He scares me. He told me that I'm not needed and that I'm useless. He penetrates my mind. I think he received punishments for that…" A guilty expression flashed across Sunny's translucent face. Kaitlyn turned her attention to the unconscious Brendon. _What if he wasn't as bad as she think he is?_

As though her thoughts were written over her face, Raye hissed. "Do not judge him just because of this, Kaitlyn. For all we know, he may be doing this all for his own benefit, Kaitlyn." Raye squatted beside Brendon's body and held his sleeve tight. "What I don't understand is this." He rolled up the sleeve of Brendon's top, revealing a charred black left upper arm. Both girls gasped loudly and their hands shot up to their mouths.

"What the heck is that?" Kaitlyn demanded.

Raye shook his head and shrugged. "I have no idea."

"How…" Sunny paused as if to find the right word, "fatal is his condition?"

"Very. His energy level is too low for his body to heal by itself." Raye paused for a long time, Sunny and Kaitlyn waited eagerly for him to continue. "He will slowly fade off, and he will be stuck eternally between this two World. And, there is only one way to save him," Raye's gaze fixed on Kaitlyn. "Energy transfer."

Kaitlyn got it already. "You mean, you want me to transfer my energy to him."

Raye nodded, a strong jealousy emits from him. "Yes. And the only way to do it, is to…" He stared constantly at her lips that Kaitlyn started to blush. "Kiss."

"Kiss?" Sunny repeated unbelievably.

"You don't have to do it, Kaitlyn. He's the enemy after all, and to you, kisses are… Uh. Kisses… Uh."

"I'll do it," Kaitlyn announced. "I can't possibly leave him alone."

Raye's face changed. His expression was a mixture of hurt and her. He must have remembered how strongly she reacted against his kiss, and how readily she is to kiss Brendon. But, there is no time for Raye's jealousy, she had got a life to save. Before Kaitlyn could change her mind, she quickly brings her lips and Brendon's lips in close contact and they kissed. Brendon's lips were soft, freezing and hot at the same time. She stayed there openly as though she was a prince trying to wake the beautiful Sleeping Beauty that slept for a thousand years. Kaitlyn felt herself weakening as energy flowed into Brendon swiftly. His lips no longer feel cold and hot at the same time. Soon, the World around Kaitlyn spun.

"Enough!" She heard Raye last yelled and pulled her and Brendon apart before she fainted in his arms.

A long time passed, Kaitlyn knew she had been in and out of her consciousness. She was barely sober at any time, and could not hold out for too long because she was plunged back into darkness again a while after. It was a creepy cold place. Complete darkness and alone, she was afraid. Until this one time, she managed to hold on. She was sober enough to hear someone talking beside her and slipped something into her index finger. She couldn't hear properly nor make out who the person was and then, she was once again back into coma.

She remembered those words clearly, a soft apology and a "Thank you."


	46. Chapter 46

_**Chapter 46:**_

Raye held hands with Kaitlyn the entire week she was in coma. He wanted her to wake up, he needed her to wake up. He hoped that he'll be able to give her his power and wake her up. His body boiled with anger as he remembered the kiss she had with Brendon. He's jealous of his brother.

Sunny entered the room with a hot towel and placed it upon Kaitlyn's neck. "How was Brendon?"

"No luck." Raye muttered softly. "He has the same condition as Kaitlyn right now."

Truthfully, Raye do not know. It had been two days since he last checked on Brendon. As if he cared about Brendon, his nemesis and rival, when his beloved lay there lifelessly. A loud siren filled the air, Sunny covered her ears, but Raye looked unaffected. It stopped after a while.

"I'm summoned." Raye announced, refusing to leave the position he is in now. "Damn." He cursed.

He had been avoiding the goddess since the day she wanted him to meet this mysterious lady with long navy-blue hair and warm green eyes.

"Hello, Raye." She spoke.

An excruciating pain shot through his brain, and his head threatened to split apart. Memories started filling his head, although shattered. He barely remembers. "Mom?" He still asked hopefully, despite the fact that he knew better than any one that his mom will never be here beside him.

Grief flashed upon her eyes and she slowly shook her head. "I'm Eve, Raye, Evelyn's twin sister." She stated. "I'm your aunt."

That was unexpected. Raye couldn't believe his ears nor take it in. "What?"

"You heard me, I. Am. Your. Aunt. Raye."

"Wait. I never had an aunt. My mom did not mention any sister to me when she's alive." Raye argued

"That's because I'm not human. But she is. Our heritage, are somewhat different. While she's half-immortal and half-human, I'm purely immortal. I'm one of the Gods, Raye. I'm the oracle."

Raye was speechless.

"I have another thing to admit. I'm one of those that vote against you doing the Gods' Mission."

"What! WHY!" Raye demanded. Something lighted a flame in him. "You're my Aunt. You're supposed to be supporting me, no?" He kind of snapped.

"No, Raye. No one ever had succeeded the Gods' Mission. You're just entertainment to the Gods."

"So what? It's alright that others don't approve. But you're my aunt, supposed you're speaking the truth." Raye's voice is dripping with anger. "Or is it you that do not think I can succeed the Mission? You're supposed to be my only kin, other than…"

"Raye?"

"Brendon! And you're not supporting me!"

"RAYE!" A voice dragged him back to reality. "The goddess called for you, hello? Get your ass going and don't let her wait. I'll take care of Kaitlyn fine, dude." Sunny stood there, demandingly, her hands on her hips, one of her eyebrows raised. Raye reluctantly let go of Kaitlyn's hands and started heading out.

"Do," He warned. "Not let anyone harm her, Sunny."

"Yes, yes, I get it, now GO!"

Raye made his way to the academy, taking his own sweet time. He kept it from Sunny, but he had to sneak Brendon into the Light Academy, Raye had to lock the unconscious Brendon up sneakily into the most remote and isolated area in the Academy, facing the gloomy Dark Academy and was rumored that Dark Academy students loved to break in. It's a crime, and Raye definitely mustn't get found out, especially the Goddess.

The atmosphere around the Academy was deathly and gloomy, almost the same as Dark Academy. The atmosphere worsened as he reached the grand chamber. He slowed down and coiled his fingers around the handle. Holding in his breath, he pulled the door apart, a piercing loud scream burst his eardrums as it flooded the entire school with the deathly scream.

He was nauseous at the gruesome sight that welcomed him. There the goddess was, standing there, looking as beautiful as ever. Towering above her, were two Light Academy students that Raye recognized. No longer as arrogant, the guy Sam had cuts across his hands, face and legs and black gooey substance dripped from his wounds, staining the goddess white dress. His walnut brown hair lost its radiance, his usual ponytail was let down into a chunk of mess, and his freckles are more visible. The girl, Shin, is an Asian who was just as unpopular as Sam is. She had scraggly scalp and oily hair, her face was invaded by pimple although now, her face was almost unrecognizable. She was often teased as Sam's girlfriend although she strongly denied it and claim that she has a 'better' taste than that. Despite her denial, they were seen kissing almost everywhere. _Talk about irony, _Raye used to think. However, Raye's disgust and hatred vanished when he saw them in this sorry plight. Being normal students, their body could not heal by its own. _What exactly had they done to cause such anger to the goddess,_ he thought.

"Raye, please closed the door." The goddess smiled calmly.

Raye closed it in fear and trepidation, a shiver chilled his spine. He is afraid of his own goddess. The goddess's smile faded off when a drip of the black substance oozed out of Shin's wounds and dripped on her face. She wiped it off with the back of her hand. "Disgusting." She mumbled. "The blood of a traitor."

His stomach churned. "What exactly did they do, goddess?"

"They betrayed the Academy, Raye. I can close my eyes to how they tried to intimidate the other students, but I stand no betrayal. This is the punishment they're receiving. For letting in the Dark into our Academy, luckily the guards detect it before they caused a great harm." Raye's heart skipped a beat.

With a snap of her fingers, the bodies of the two students landed on the floor hard. A deep growl came from the chamber doors, the student whimpered in fear. "No, my goddess, please, let us off."

The goddess ignored their pleas. "Come in please."

An uncomfortable premonition of fear pervaded Raye's senses as the door slammed open and a silver-gray creature walked in, followed by one of the guards. It probably had a thousand eyes, the trunk looks like a long straight thin stick when it doesn't move. It looked lost.

"Masked your aura, Raye." Slowly, the goddess's and the guard's aura disappeared, Raye quickly masked his aura.

"Go…"

"Shh." The goddess shushed, with a finger to her lips. If it wasn't for the grim situation here, Raye would have thought the goddess looked cute.

"Goddess, let us off, please." Shin screamed and pleaded, but she only made the situation worst. The creature detected the presence of the two students and gave a loud growl that probably made the ground shake. The two students cowered in fear as the creature came closer. The creature made another loud sound, that doesn't sound humane.

Raye heard an intake of breath from the creature. What happened afterwards almost make Raye throw up, but he held it in. The skin of the two students started boiling, bubbled forming beneath the skin, Raye felt a pleasant energy in the air and enjoyed it blissfully. Not too long later, their skin wrinkled, they slowly get thinner and thinner until they looked like a wrinkled-skin skeleton, the black substance on their wound dried up.

"Enough." The goddess ordered when the bodies of the two students started glowing and fading. "Bring the creature back." The experienced guards managed to tame the beast and brought it out. Raye was speechless, he was momentarily shocked at the gruesome sight but soon regained his composure.

The two students had their energy drained to the extent of disappearing. They both coughed and looked really worn out. "Goddess." The one word that came out of Shin's mouth was hoarse. They faded in and out that they're about to blend in with the surroundings, eternally stuck between both Worlds. The worst punishments that ever existed.

The goddess turned to Raye, her sharp look pierced through Raye. A warning look. "Thank you, Raye. You may leave now." She smiled.

A shiver ran down Raye's spine. She knew. She knew all about Brendon being hidden in the Academy. Her way of showing it to him was different. She wasn't being straightforward. It was a message indirectly given to him. Raye panicked.

"Raye." The goddess commanded firmly.

Raye took one last look at the room, the two students were barely visible, blending into the surroundings. Raye shot them a pity look before hurrying over to the room where Brendon was sneakily hidden. A sudden crash of glasses hurried Raye as he saw that the door to the room were opened wide. He was too late.

Brendon was leaning against the huge window that was shattered into pieces. Brendon's hands bled, the same black substance that made Raye nauseas. His breathing was heavy, there was something in his eyes that Raye could not make out. Fear? Standing right in front of Brendon was Eve. _Why is she here?_ Raye remained unnoticed until Brendon raised a hand. Acting on instinct, Raye jumped in front of Eve, meaning to protect her. A loud crackle was heard, and the next moment, Brendon was on the window, holding to the still, the broken glass cut into his skin. Now that Raye came out of hiding, the fear that was previously in eyes disappeared. His eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"You saved me, brother, but expect no repayment. I give my enemies no help." His voice menacing. "May we meet again."

"Wait!" Eve yelled. "Your wounds are not healed yet! You still need rest!"

Brendon gave her a glare. "I do not want to be concerned by someone who is on the side of the Light." With that, he jumped off the building.

"Brendon!" Raye yelled and looked out of the shattered window. Brendon disappeared.

Hastily, Raye ran out of the room, not giving a damn to his own aunt. All that on his mind is Kaitlyn. His heart almost stopped when he thought about the possible outcomes that can happen to her.

_Please stay safe! _He called out to himself.

The room Kaitlyn was in was surprisingly peaceful. Sunny was nowhere to be found and Kaitlyn was still sleeping peacefully. Raye let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god," He muttered to himself. However, something shone on Kaitlyn index finger. Something that was originally not there.

It was a black left-winged ring.

Brendon was here, Raye recognized it. He had one exactly the same except that it's right-winged. It belongs in a pair. His mom gave him and Brendon each a ring. It's a nullification ring. It controls one's power and prevents it from going berserk. _Why would Brendon give such an important ring to Kaitlyn?_ While being deep in thoughts, Raye noticed Kaitlyn's eyelids starting to flutter.

"Raye?" She groaned groggily.

"Kaitlyn."

"How many days have I've been out?"

"Almost a week." Raye couldn't take it in anymore. His self-control is starting to crumble.

"This ring?" Kaitlyn looked up, her beautiful steel-grey eyes bored into his. "Did you give…?"

Before she can even finish her sentence, Raye interrupted her sentence with a hug. She was caught off-guard. "Raye?" Kaitlyn remained still.

"I cannot take it anymore. I don't want to risk losing you again, Kaitlyn." His fingers dug into her skin. His muscles tensed. "Will you let me stay beside you and protect you? Not as some stupid Bronze Darkness, but as Raye Armstrong."

After that, words escaped his throat before he realized what he just said and stopped himself. "I love you Kaitlyn, will you be my girlfriend?"


	47. Chapter 47

_**Chapter 47:**_

Eve's knees gave in the moment Raye fled the room. Her hands are still shaking from her encounter with Brendon. She remembered the last time she set her eyes on him, it was when he was a baby, when he was barely one.

"Eve." Nadine's soft voice soothes her. Her hands no longer shook as much as before. She lifted her head so she could make eye contact with Nadine. Nadine understood, and brought Eve to her own private chamber so that they could talk privately with no interruption.

"Do not let anyone in." She commanded the guards on patrol before retreating back into their own private chamber. The moment the door slammed close, tears welled up in Eve's eyes, threatening to fall.

"What happened?" Nadine looked at Eve with urgency. "Are you alright? It's okay. It's just me here."

Tears fell like waterfall. The concern Nadine gave was more than enough.

Evelyn and Eve were twins since forever, they looked and acted similar that the only difference between the both of them was that Evelyn had jade-green eyes and Eve has emerald-green eyes. They were inseparable until the secret distanced them. However, they were still quite close as before, until Evelyn died. Ever since Evelyn's death, there had always been a void in Eve's heart, a void that not even Nadine cannot fill. However, the secret is too much for Eve to bear, a burden too heavy for her to carry. Eve had carried it for almost fifteen years and yet why does she have to break down now? Nadine waited for Eve to calm down.

"I've seen him."

"Who?" Nadine urged.

"Brendon.

"Brendon?" At first, Eve saw that Nadine was confused, but she got it in the end. "Ah. Raye's brother, Brendon Armstrong, huh? Indeed, he turned Evil. You found him, didn't you?" Nadine sympathized.

"Yes…" Eve murmured. "It's been so long since I seen him…"

"Brendon Armstrong?" Nadine shut her eyes calmly. Eve saw a spark of anger when she opened her eyes again. "What's so special about him, Eve? You did not see both brothers for a long time, yet why only Brendon Armstrong could bring out such a strong emotion from you, Eve?"

Eve braced herself. The secret she tried to keep for so long is about to be revealed. "He looked so much like his father."

"What?" Nadine didn't get it. "Brendon and Raye are twins. Yet, they look nothing alike, and Brendon DO NOT," Nadine emphasized on the not, "look like Aaron in any ways except for the hair, Eve. The only thing about Brendon that looks alike with his parents is his green eyes that match Evelyn. If it wasn't for the eyes, I would have thought that Brendon is not the son of Aaron and Evelyn."

Eve did not speak, but instead held Nadine's eye contact. It was then Nadine's brain picked up everything and finally understood.

"His eyes are…" Her next words are going to change everything. "Emerald-green." That statement summarized everything.

This time, it was Eve who shut her eyes calmly. She took in a deep breath before letting it out and opening her Emerald-green eyes that stared into Nadine's. She is about to reveal the secret that had been holding her down. "Magic does wonders, Nadine. What if…"

Eve paused, and held her breath, "What if Brendon's natural hair color is not brown…" Another short pause, she let out the breath she's holding, "but blonde?"

Nadine eyes widened, she finally realized.

The Secret that Eve and Evelyn swore to bring to their grave was then revealed.


	48. Chapter 48

_**Chapter 48:**_

Brendon staggered towards the nearest tree to him. That entire running took up all his energy, his breathing was heavy and left his arm burning with pain. He was in debt to Kaitlyn but he repaid his debt by offering a nullifying ring to her. It was a gift from his mother. He knew because he remembered only parts of it. He had the ring since he was alive and he just kept it with him. It was shocking when Kaitlyn suddenly grabbed his hands. He was never shocked but he had not recovered from the shock of his terrifying nightmare.

He dreamt that he was running in the rain and his skin burns as the pelts of rain hit his skin. It was not any normal rain nor acid rain as the pelts of rain are golden in color. Right before his eyes, building collapsed, fire raged and the area was engulfed in smoke. Living mortals run about in horror as the ground swallowed them up and waves washed them away. Unseen to mortals' eyes, the Dark and Light were fighting one another, many just blended in with the surrounding and disappeared into thin air. The scene was mortifying.

Felix's evil laughter echoed and Nadine's sobs can be heard from opposite. Floating in the middle was…

Kaitlyn Swift. Golden Darkness.

Her beautiful golden eyes dimmed and it was blank. There was no presence of life in those eyes; it was as though she was in a zombie trance. It was the scene of the destruction of Earth. From the corner of his eyes, Brendon spotted his brother. Raye was tied to a pole, like a sacrifice. He was out of conscious and battered. Golden Darkness raised her hands and…

Brendon woke up. The bed he was lying on was drenched from his sweat. His skin still burnt from his dream and his sleeveless left arm revealed a black charred upper arm. Brendon knew that it was the mark of Hera and that mark sparked something within him. Other than the dream, there was also the lady at the Light Academy, the lady with the same eye color as him. There was a connection between them but Brendon could not figured out what.

Brendon felt lost and really unguarded. He could no longer differentiate what was what anymore. His life will never be normal since Golden Darkness entered his life. Shuffle of footsteps were heard from behind and Brendon swung behind, his arm hitting the tree. He groaned in pain.

Raye emerged from behind the tree. "You reacted slow."

"Shut up," Brendon growled. _I resign to my fate. Kill me now and end the suffering. _Brendon thought. The pain was throbbing.

"Mind your words, Brendon. Right now, I could easily make you scream for mercy and you can't even fight back." Raye snarled, his eyes glinted silver. Brendon's knees gave in at the right time and he fell onto the pile of dead leaves. Raye's eyes were on Brendon while his hands took a ring out from his pocket. Raye slipped the ring onto his index finger.

"Why did you give Kaitlyn yours?"

Brendon stared at the ring in Raye's hands. "A mere gratitude ring, brother. I do not wish to possess the same ring as you. Now you two are a lover with a matching set of rings." Brendon mocked.

Raye obviously wasn't amused by Brendon. His glare was as piercing as before. "If anything happens to Kaitlyn, Brendon, I swear I'll haunt you down."

"Fine, whatever, brother." Brendon leaned his back against the tree and forcefully pushed himself to stand. "Are you done with your questioning? Because it's my turn. Who was the lady back at your Academy?"

"Eve?" The glare dropped into a confusing gaze. "Why does it concern you? Are you going to run back like a dog to your master and report?"

Brendon felt offended but he suppressed his anger. He knew that if he flares up now, there's no way he getting any answer out of Raye. "Is she our… mother?"

Raye gave a blank stare and blinked a few times. "You remembered about our mother?"

Brendon did not answer his question, he felt no necessity in answer it. Raye gave an exasperated sigh. "Eve is our mom's twin, our aunt. However, she's a God and our mom was a mortal so we've never seen her before. No worries, Eve is not on anybody's sides." Raye murmured something inaudible.

"What?"

"SHE IS NOT ON ANYBODY'S SIDES!" Raye yelled.

"No, your last sentence."

"Oh."

"Oh what? What did you say?" Brendon got pissed, but held himself back.

"Nothing!" Raye shouted. His hostility was back. Any brotherly feelings disappeared without any trace of it even happening. There was an awkward silence between them, Brendon just clasped onto his arm. "It doesn't have to be this way, you know?"

"What way?" Brendon was just feeling frustrated with Raye's mumblings.

"Us killing one another. We… Are brothers." It seemed hard for Raye to voice it out. "We can…"

"We _were _brothers, Raye." Brendon interrupted. "Not anymore. Not since I joined the Dark and you Light. We can never be brothers anymore. We're _enemies_ now."

Raye was taken aback and hurt. Guilt unconsciously pricked at Brendon's heart. What is wrong with him? He was not supposed to feel any guilt, it was the truth. Or so he thought.

"Fine, keep it that way, Brendon. If you wished." Raye gave one last glance behind him before he left the place with dead leaves crashing under his weight, signaling his grand exit.

Brendon gripped to his arm tightly, it hurts. Inside of him, Brendon felt something. Something was pulling him back into his Academy. A bond. Brendon followed his instinct. His mind was surprisingly empty. It took him longer than he thought when he finally reached his destination. The bond got stronger, and Brendon felt unprotected for the first time in his own academy. Slowly, he made his way towards the pull. He found himself getting nearer and nearer to his mentor's chamber. _Was his mentor asking for him? _Brendon pondered. However, the pull brought him away from his mentor's chamber towards…

_Hera's prison._

Brendon stopped dead on his tracks. Why was he here? Nothing made any sense to him. He was supposed to stay away from the chamber. Of a sudden, something muted his thoughts and muffled his mind. He couldn't think, instead, he just followed the pull and opening the door to Hera's prison.

"Welcome, young knight, I was just getting tired of waiting." Hera's withered fingers stretched out to Brendon. "Come on, knight, and satisfy this poor lady's hunger. I'm starving!"

Brendon can't help but outstretch his hands to her. He felt the need to obey.

"Yes, good boy, come closer so that I can take a look at your face closely. I warned you. You can _never _run away from me, honey."

A pleasuring pain hit Brendon's skull as soon as his hands hit contact with Hera's. His knees turned into jelly as he fell. The pain was bittersweet and he was disgustingly enjoying every moment of hellish heaven. His energy was sipping out of him, and memories came flooding in. Still, there were no complete memories, just broken pieces of them. Brendon grew weaker.

"Ah. Delicious." Hera licked her lips.

More charred skin fell off and she was regaining her original beauty. Brendon realized something that almost killed him. He was reviving the Golden Darkness who destroyed the Worlds for her benefits, he betrayed his own kind and became a slave to Hera. What had he become? Brendon staggered back from Hera.

Brendon sensed a strong burning sensation on his upper arm and took a good look at it. A golden mark was engraved on his darkened arm. The mark of Hera, the mark of his betrayal. "As expected, the energy of a demi-god never fails to satisfy me, young knight."

"Sorry, what?" Brendon's eyes widened at her. "The energy of _what?_" Brendon became more frustrated with all the mumblings others made and him having to ask them to repeat what they said.

Hera stunned for a moment, then she laughed. "The energy of a demi-god, young knight. YOU. You're a demi-god, my dear."

Hera's words rang in Brendon's ears. Demi-god… He's a demi-god and his mom was a mortal. His dad was a… God? Brendon could not believed his ears. His father was a God. And he's a…

Demi-god.

Everything seemed so hard to absorb now.


	49. Chapter 49

_**Chapter 49:**_

Brendon dismissed that thought as fast as it even appeared in his mind. His dad can't be a God. He _died_. A God can't die. "You're lying. Your words can't be trusted, Hera."

The sinful woman chuckled. "Sure, Demi-god. But you yourself knew the truth behind everything."

"I can't be a demi-god, my parents were dead, long long ago, Hera." Brendon started losing his cool, why was he even explaining it to her? "And _Gods can't_ _die._" It was the truth. Gods can be destroyed but never dead, Hera was a perfect example of a destroyed Goddess, and Brendon was reviving her. _She was the one who killed your parents. _A voice told him.

"What if your parents, whom you thought were your parents, were not your parents?"

"I know who my parents are, I do not need someone like you to tell me. I can figure it out, and I am positively sure that the man and woman that you indirectly killed were my parents, Hera. And that my… Raye and I were twin brothers that just do not look alike. Aaron and Evelyn are my parents, and they always will be." Brendon babbled before he left the room with a loud bam.

His body was not as tired as before when Hera took his energy, it was used to it. Brendon had enough strength to walk himself towards his chamber. He changed into a comfortable turtleneck sweater that covered Hera's mark that spread to his neck. Brendon glanced at the mirror and gave Hera's words a thought. He knew he should not doubt his origins, but what if the parents who had been raising him were really not his parents?

"What does it matter now, Brendon Armstrong? You're dead," The truth struck him harder than he thought. "So are your parents." Brendon spoke to his reflection.

His head throbbed further with pain. The memories he remembered was not relevant with the situation he's dealing with. If he's a demi-god, would Raye, too, a demi-god? Is he aware of the fact? Brendon sighed and lay on his bed. Nothing made any sense to him anymore. He revived the Golden Darkness, a murderer. He gave his ring to Kaitlyn Swift. The weird dream he just had. Him being so emotional suddenly, as if he was still alive. And the weird lady with his emerald-green eyes. Brendon shot up from his bed. The lady with his eyes!

"Eve is our mom's twin, our aunt. However, she's a God and our mom was a mortal so we've never seen her before." Raye's words came back to Brendon. _Eve is our mom's twin… She's a God… _Things are making horribly sense to him now. Brendon made small steps to the mirror again. He stared at his reflection hard. There has to be a flaw that will give away his parentage. His eyes are of Eve's, his hair is of Aaron's, and he looked nothing like Evelyn. And truthfully, nothing about him except his hair is like Aaron's. Bothered by his origins, Brendon ran to his mentor's chamber.

"My Lord!" He yelled.

Felix glared at him. "Armstrong. Get out."

After staring at his own reflection for so long, Brendon realized that he looked a bit like Felix, the high cheekbone, the dimples when Felix actually smirked, and the way their eyes looked almost similar. "Does the name, Eve ring a bell, my Lord?"

Felix flinched. Brendon widened his eyes; his Lord never flinched, not even at any sudden interruption. Felix averts his eyes. "Armstrong, I will tolerate no nonsense from someone who disappeared for a week. Get. Out. Now." He pointed towards the door.

"My lord, did you ever involved yourself with Eve?" Brendon was afraid but he pushed his luck further.

Walls raged up in flames, the room temperature chilled and the windows cracked. Anger raged within his mentor as he gave Brendon the glare. "I do not know anyone with the name Eve Gilbert, Armstrong, get out now before I blast you to the extent you will ever regret asking that question. Do not even appear before me until I summoned you, Armstrong. GET OUT NOW." He raged.

Brendon scurried out of the room. He was still shivering from fright, but he got what he asked for. Brendon did not mention Eve's full name, but Felix knew. _Eve Gilbert_ got that reaction out of Felix. Felix had never blown up in such a rage before Brendon ever. It was _Eve Gilbert _that agitated him to that extent. Finally, Brendon found out about his origin, but he needed just one last spell to confirm his doubts, and he is not feeling any excited about it. Standing in front of the Academy's toilet mirror, he muttered a soft spell, his hands are an inch away from his hair. "_Change my hair color to the original." _Inside, Brendon wished that nothing happened as he opened his eyes to look at his reflection.

What Brendon saw was as he expected but he still could not take the shock. His emerald-green eyes widened at the reflection and he stumbled back. "No…" He murmured, horrified with what he saw. "This can't be. What is this?" His fear overpowered his anger, and the mirror cracked under the pressure of his overpowering fear. What he saw in his reflection was the same ol' Brendon with his emerald-green eyes, and high cheekbone. However, his hair was different.

His hair was no longer Aaron's brown hair, it's… blonde. The same blonde as Felix, Brendon's mentor. Brendon finally understood his origins. Eve Gilbert, the Oracle, is his biological mother, and Felix, originally his mentor, has now be his biological…

Father.


	50. Chapter 50

_**Chapter 50:**_

Kaitlyn felt Raye's hands squeezing hers tight, she felt her cheeks burning. Everyone stared at her while she walked past. She wondered if they were staring at their sudden involvement or her sudden decision to cut short her hair. Her blonde hair was now around her shoulder length, instead of waist-length. Raye's hands gave her courage to confront her greatest obstacle now. Telling Tiffany about her, finally. Sunny tagged along behind quietly, as though she was deep in thought.

Tiffany did not recognize her at first. It took her twice to recognize Kaitlyn. "OHEMGEE." She exclaimed loudly. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN AND WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?" She practically screamed.

Raye squeezed her hands tighter, Kaitlyn looked at him. Raye nodded. That gave her strength.

"Tiff." Kaitlyn held her breath. "I have something to tell you."

"What!" She snapped. Her eyes were shiny, wet with tears. "Tell me, where have you been all these while and…" She paused. Her eyes were on their hands. "Oh." Her eyes widened. "OH." Her eyes darted to her hands then back at Kaitlyn again. Her expression was a 'what-the-hell-happened-between-both-of-you-that-you-hasn't-been-telling-me". Kaitlyn gave an awkward smile.

The bell rang. Raye let go of Kaitlyn's hands. "I'll see you after school. Keep calm and relay the message, alright." He kissed her on the cheek. Tiffany's eyes grew bigger, provided that it was not her widest. After he was gone, Tiffany pulled Kaitlyn aside.

"Tell me what happened." She demanded.

Instead of smilling, Kaitlyn took her hands and led her to the rooftop. "Tiff, there's something I need to tell you, besides that. You know."

Tiffany folded her arms in front of her chest. "Yes. I want details. Information."

"It's a long story back. You see, Raye and I. We're childhood friends…"

"WHAT?" Tiffany yelled.

"Tiff." Kaitlyn said solemnly.

"Okay, sorry, continue please."

Kaitlyn began from the brothers and her being childhood friends, to the mysterious red woman _Hera_ at the skating rink, to the death of the brothers. Then she continued with Felix and Deborah. Tiffany never interrupt, her face expression showed the obvious. She does not believe Kaitlyn. When talking about Sunny, Kaitlyn teared. Sunny stood by the door of the stairs, looking at Kaitlyn remoursefully. Her presence kept Kaitlyn calm.

"So you're telling me, Kaitlyn, that Sunny is right beside you now…"

"No, she's by the door." Kaitlyn corrected.

"Whatever. And that Felix killed her while targeting for you because you were some Golden Darkness thingy and he wanted your powers. Also, that Raye and Brendon are your undead childhood friends who, well, one dates you and the other attempted to kill you."

"Yes," Kaitlyn nodded seriously. Two bells had already gone off.

"Okay, Kaitlyn, very funneh. Joke's over. Get to the serious business will you?" Tiffany laughed awakardly.

Kaitlyn sighed. "Tiff, I. Am. Serious." She went through each word thoroughly.

"Kaitlyn, whatever sick joke you're attempting, it's not funny. April's fool is long over and Halloween is not for another few months. Stop your nonsense, ok?"

"TIFFANY." Kaitlyn lost her patience. "I AM NOT JOKING…"

"Kaitlyn, we saw… Ok, OR rather, I SAW HER BEING BURIED. KAITLYN. I WAS THERE, I WAS THERE AT HER BURIAL. SUNNY. IS. DEAD." Kaitlyn saw Sunny's hurt expression from a distance. "THIS IS NOT EVEN FUNNY. KAITLYN. WHEN WILL YOU ACCEPT THE FACT THAT SUNNY IS DEAD? SHE WILL NEVER COME BACK. IMAGINING HER BEING HERE IS NOT HELPING. IT'S SICK. KAITLYN." Tiffany gave her a disgusted look with smeared make-up and tear-stained tracks and strode out of the rooftop, slamming the door.

Tears swelled up in her eyes, as Kaitlyn felt the sharp piecing knife that was just plunge right into her heart. Instead of believing her, Tiffany thinks that she's sick. It took her all her courage for her to say all these and she actually thinks it's sick? Kaitlyn brawled into the open space from the rooftop and realized that Sunny was missing, but she knew Sunny could take care of her own. Kaitlyn settled herself down until it was lunch break. She reluctantly went down to the lunchroom to look for Raye as promised. Kaitlyn knew her eyes were puffy but she care not. All she wanted to do right now is to run away from all these.

Raye took her hand as they both sat on an individual table, Tiffany were nowhere to be found. So was Sunny, but Kaitlyn paid no attention.

"How did it go?" Raye asked, as he took a bite from his Chinese food.

Kaitlyn shook her head. "She didn't believe me. She thinks… She thinks I'm sick."

"WHAT?" Raye choked on his food.

Kaitlyn handed him a cup of water. "Sick?"

"Yeah. She thinks I could not get over Sunny's death." Kaitlyn sneaked off a bite from Raye's food cheekily. Her depression was gone the moment she saw Raye. It was comforting. "And that I imagined Sunny being around me…" Kaitlyn moped.

"But, you were speaking the…!"

Raye cut his sentence short as Kaitlyn gave him an earnest look. Her eyes swelled up a little, "Could you be a fragment of my imagination too?" Kaitlyn saw in Raye's eyes: Love. He placed her hands on her face.

"I'm real, Kaitlyn." Raye's face leaned forward. Kaitlyn closed her eyes lightly, expecting a sweet kiss.

"OHMYGAWD!" A high-pitched voice interrupted them. They looked up and saw a girl with strawberry blonde curls, smiling at them. "You guys are really together? I think you two are so sweet together." Raye gave her a puzzled smile. Kaitlyn merely shrugged.

A random brunette from behind accidentally tripped over nothing, and her cup of diet yoghurt splashed all over Kaitlyn. She gasped audibly as the slimy yoghurt dripped off her blonde hair. Raye quickly picked up the napkin and started trying to wipe the yoghurt off her. She felt sticky.

"Oh, Catherine, what have you just done, look at poor Kaitlyn. Are you alright, honey? Come on, let us bring you to the ladies so we could properly clean you up." She smiled sweetly. Kaitlyn, frustrated, shook her head as she tried desperately to wipe off the gooey leftovers from her hair. The girl bended forward, and whispered in her ears. "You'd better come with us, Swift, or you won't like the consequences." She stood up straight and smiled sweetly.

"What's wrong?" Raye asked with concern. He continued to wipe the gooey yoghurt from her hair.

"Nothing." Kaitlyn gave a "nothing-is-wrong" smile. "I think I'd better make a trip to the ladies after all."

However, instead of heading towards to the ladies, the girl and Catherine managed to gather a number of gang and cornered Kaitlyn under the stairs. The girl with the strawberry curls gripped on Kaitlyn's new hair tight as she yanked Kaitlyn towards her.

"Break out with Raye right now, Swift." She threatened Kaitlyn.

"No." Kaitlyn firmly stated.

Kaitlyn felt the girl letting go of her hair and a sharp piecing pain on her cheek. The girl slapped her. The impact was so hard that Kaitlyn's head turn to the direction of the slap. But she will not be intimidated. She looked back at the girl with eyes that meant serious business.

"Nicole!" Catherine called out.

"I will not break out with him no matter what you do to me." Kaitlyn's eye contact did not waver.

"You slut." Nicole's anger was shown in her eyes. She yanked on Kaitlyn's hair again, and pushed her to the floor. Nicole kicked and kicked Kaitlyn with her heels. Every kick that made in contact with her skin, Kaitlyn groaned. "You do not deserve him. You just broke up and you're after him? Catherine like Raye way longer than you did, bitch."

"Nicole, stop!" Catherine's voice was shaking. "Let's stop, ok, you will kill her."

"No, Catherine. First she stole Chris from you and left you heartbroken. When you finally found a new love, she got him too. If I don't teach her a lesson, she will continue her slutty ways." Nicole gave Kaitlyn another one kick.

Kaitlyn finally knew why Catherine was so familiar. She was Christopher's ex. "I will never give Raye up, even if you kill me."

Nicole got the other girls to join in; one even kicked Kaitlyn in her stomach. She whimpered, but she never gave in to them. It hurts, but she do not allow them to scare her or more threats will come her way. Suddenly, they all stopped.

"Brendon!" Kaitlyn heard Nicole gasping.

"Why stop?" She heard Brendon's cheeky voice. "Continue, don't mind me and my camera. I won't disturb you."

Kaitlyn opened her eyes. She saw Brendon putting down his phone. His hair is now blonde. He resemble so much to Felix. "Aww. Why did you stop?" Brendon stepped closer to Nicole and co. "You were getting to the good parts, aren't you? Such a pity." He stroke Nicole's hair. She trembled under his touch. Brendon leaned in to whisper softly into her ears. "I could've show that video to Raye, and he would _never _forgive you, babe. Neither will I." He backed off and smirked. Fear was etched vividly on Nicole's face.

"Let's go." She commanded to her gang of friends, who followed without any questionings. They left her and Brendon alone in the empty hallway. Kaitlyn helped herself up.

"I'm not going to thank you, Brendon."

"Whatever." He shrugged. "Wow, you look nasty, and so… so yoghurt-ish." He commented. "No traces of feminism in you at all. Why did my brother fall in love with you?"

"I thought you will be a gentleman and help me up, Brendon. Instead of trying to poke your nose into our social life." Kaitlyn brushed her messy hair aside. "What's with your hair anyway?"

Brendon chuckled, "I'm gentlemanly enough to help you out though, Golden Darkness. But, how touching. _'I would never give Raye up even if you kill me'_? Cliché." He did not answer to her question about his hair, she did not want to probe too much either. She assumed he just want to be like his _Lord._

"Shut up, Dark Knight."

"Even without my help, Golden Darkness, you can still get up fine. These injuries should be nothing to you anyway." Brendon leaned towards a wall as Kaitlyn swiped the dirt of her. Her wounds all closed and healed, only the pain remained. "Why did you hold back? Those fragile mortals could easily be crushed under you."

"We're different, Brendon. I don't kill people just because they bullied or blackmailed me." Kaitlyn smirked at Brendon. An idea popped into her head. "Will you coach me?"

"What?"

"In controlling my powers and so. Like how to use it and stuffs."

Brendon eyed her suspiciously. "Why don't you go and ask that boyfriend of yours?"

"Raye doesn't use his powers often. And he will _never_ teach me. So I can only rely on you. Please?"

Brendon face was unpredictable. He was battling within his head to trust Kaitlyn or not. But Kaitlyn bet her life on this. It had to work no matter what. After a long silence, Brendon looked up.

"Sure." He grinned. "But don't blame me if your boyfriend misunderstood us together, student."Brendon walked out victoriously. Kaitlyn just stared after him. Her heart rejoiced. The true victor was not Brendon, it's her.

"It's time for revenge, Felix." Kaitlyn mumbled to herself.


	51. Chapter 51

_**Chapter 51:**_

Tiffany ran all the way to her locker the moment she left Kaitlyn at the rooftop. She slumped herself against the locker as her tears wouldn't stop running down. She called Kaitlyn sick. She didn't mean it but it just came out of her mouth before she can even stop it. Sunny is dead. Tiffany knew that. Whatever Kaitlyn said was a lie. Sunny can't be revived. Her body was buried. Sunny is dead. Tiffany reminded herself.

"_Tiffany." _

Tiffany jerked up at the voice, then she shook her head. There's no way Sunny would call her. Sunny is dead. Tiffany knew that better than anyone. How could she ever doubt that? Kaitlyn's words deluded her, that's all. Tiffany walked herself to the toilet and took a long look at her reflection. The girl she used to see is now haggard, there are dark circles under her eyes and her make-up all smeared. Tiffany took in a deep breath, she hurriedly tie her hair into a bun. The toilet was empty except her so she did not have to worry about being spotted. Tiffany touched her reflection in the mirror, this is her, the old her would never believe this but this is a fact, just like Sunny. Sunny is dead.

Tiffany washed her face with the tap water, and looked up into the mirror. Right behind her reflection, Tiffany saw Sunny. Paler than her corpse, her eyes are diluted, her long hair was messy and her lips are scarily white. Tiffany turned behind her; there was nobody there. Not believing her eyes, Tiffany screamed and immediately ran out of the toilet. As she was running through the hallway, the lights flickered, adding onto the gloomy atmosphere. Tiffany stopped at her locker. She panted heavily.

"_It was my imagination, my imagination. Sunny is dead, she is dead!" _ Tiffany shook her head.

Girls from the hallway stared at her, some even snickered. Tiffany finally realized that her hair was tied up in a bun and was in a mess, so is her face, now that she washed away her heavy make-up. She must have looked horrible now. Tiffany decided to make use of her locker mirror and touched up on her make-up. Tiffany sighed as she remembered leaving her make-up box in toilet when she ran away. Yet, she still opened up her locker for some remaining last-choice make-up, it beats walking around looking like a total loser. She keyed in her locker combination and slowly opened it. She looked in her locker, her hands shivering really hard. Sitting above all her books was her make-up box with all her make-up inside. She slammed her locker door hard and took a few steps back. The door opened again, all by itself. Tiffany placed her hands to her mouth, muffling her screams. She didn't want to scream or she'll be the joke of the school. She did not want that!

Raye supported her by holding onto her elbow as she stumbled backwards. "Raye!" She exclaimed, clearly shocked to see him.

"What's wrong?" Raye asked her. He was worried, but not of affection, purely friends' concern.

"Not.. Nothing." Tiffany eyed him. If what Kaitlyn said was true, Raye is not human. "Raye, what are you?"

Raye did not look surprised. Instead, he chuckled. "I'm what Kaitlyn told you, Tiffany."

Tiffany jerked her hand away. "Asking you was stupid."

"Whatever," He smiled. Then he looked behind Tiffany. "What are you doing? You know the rules don't you?"

"What…!" Tiffany yelled.

Raye sighed. "Your way of dealing with this will not help Kaitlyn, you know that."

"What are you talking about, Raye?" Tiffany followed his line of sight and realized that he is not looking at her, he is looking _behind _her, at her locker door. He was not talking to her, he was talking to…

"Sunny."

Raye glanced at Tiffany. "Yes, Sunny. You can't interfere with the living mortals, you know that, don't you?"

Tiffany watched as Raye seemed to make a self-argument between his and Sunny.

"Shut up!" Tiffany yelled, interrupting the argument. "Raye, arguing with yourself will not make me believe Kaitlyn. SUNNY IS DEAD. SHE DIED. I SAW HER BODY BURIED WITH MY OWN EYES. Stop confusing me!" She took her books and run, ignoring the intense stare Raye left. Tiffany opened her classroom door with a loud bang. It was still early and barely anyone in the classroom. She slammed her books on her table. Those who were in her classroom glared at her as they were all studying. She ignored them and took a seat near the window. She stared outside blankly, not even noticing the rest of her classmates and teachers moving into the class.

A small gust of wind blew in through the window, messing up all the materials on her table. One of it was a photo Tiffany always carries, a photo of her, Kaitlyn and Sunny. Tiffany picked it up and slotted it into her history book. Tears swelled up in her eyes. "Sunny, if you're still actually here…" Tiffany didn't finish her sentence, she just wiped away those tears and laugh softly to herself. She was falling for Raye's plot.

A strong gust of wind now blew in, this time caused her entire pencil case to fall. She bent down to pick it up, except she missed the pencil Sunny gave her for her birthday. It picked up by itself. Tiffany screamed. The pencil dropped.

"Is there anything wrong, Tiffany Britney?" Her calculus teacher, Ms. Helen, obviously irritated, demanded to know.

"Nothing, Ms. Helen. I was just shocked by the sudden gust of wind." She lied.

The teacher clicked her tongue and went back to her teaching. Tiffany stared at the pencil that lay still on the floor. _"It was my imagination. My imagination." _She looked around her class, none of her classmates were looking at her, no one else saw it, the pencil that moved by its own. Tiffany hurriedly picked the pencil up and examined it carefully. Did it really moved on its own?

Tiffany wanted to test it and she placed the pencil on the table beside her notes. It stayed still for a moment. When Tiffany thought it was impossible for the pencil to move, it moved. Tiffany moved her chair backwards, she was frightened but she just watched, as the pencil seemed to be writing something on her blank note.

"194KATMS, it's me, Sunny."

"Oh my god." Tiffany gasped audibly. "Sun… no… impossible."

"Believe Kaitlyn, Tiff, but things are going to change for the worst now that I am dead. Trust works both ways. Believe Kait, please."

The pencil dropped dead still. Tiffany's tears kept running like a tap. "Sunny, I missed you." The pencil never moved. Tiffany kicked her table aside and rushed out of her class.

"Tiffany Britney, come back here this instant." Ms. Helen screamed off her lungs. "Come back here or it will be detention for you! BRITNEYYYYYYYYY!"

Tiffany just run like there's no tomorrow. She rushed into Kaitlyn's next class. The teacher stared at Tiffany as she walked towards Kaitlyn's table. The classroom was quiet, everyone looked shocked, including Kaitlyn.

"Tiffany?" Kaitlyn looked puzzled.

Tiffany forcefully grabbed Kaitlyn off her seat. Raye stood up from his seat, his denfense mode on. Tiffany used all of her strength and slapped Kaitlyn. The impact was hard and the sound was loud. Kaitlyn looked at Tiffany unbelievably.

"Tiffany?" Her eyes are swelling with tears.

"Why did you only tell me all of that after Sunny died?" Tiffany sobbed. "Why, Kaitlyn? Do you not trust me?" Tiffany brought Kaitlyn close to her and gave her a tight hug. "Why!" Tiffany no longer care about what the other classmates think about her, she cried out all of her heart.

"I'm sorry…" Kaitlyn hugged back and pat her softly on the back. "I'm sorry Tiff. I'm sorry!" She brawled. Both of them cried in front of the class, ignoring whatever stares everyone were giving them.

"Enough of the touching scene, girls." The teacher sighed. "Out now, Ms. Britney. OUT OF MY CLASS." Tiffany let go of Kaitlyn and left. "And both of you, in my office after school."

Tiffany smiled cheerfully. "Yes, teacher!"


	52. Chapter 52

_**Chapter 52:**_

Brendon made his way to his lord's chamber calmly. He was excited to relay the message to his lord, but not too excited for him to lose his composure. He knocked onto the door softly. His lord growled for admission. Brendon walked in with his guard up. He scanned the surroundings. It was just his Lord and he. Brendon bowed and reported the deal between him and the Golden Darkness. The great news sparked no reaction from Felix.

He merely shrugged, looking as haggard as ever. "You're behind time, Armstrong."

Brendon clenched his fist hard. "I'm sorry, my Lord." It was an insincere apology, but his Lord could not sense it. Brendon felt anger. Under his brother's watch, Brendon could not get anything done. He understood the fact that he was behind time, but it was not his fault! Or rather, he doesn't think it is. Angrily, Brendon growled with his teeth clenched. "May I be dismissed?"

"Get out of my sight."

Brendon gritted his teeth and left. Anger fumed in him. "I'll prove to you that choosing me for this job is the best decision you ever made." Brendon strayed past Hera's chamber; he stopped dead in his tracks. His body agonized for the pleasuring pain while his mind hunger for memories. Brendon fought in himself. He wants to enter, but he did not want to. Losing against temptation, Brendon stepped into the chamber.

"Young knight," Hera smiled. "Nice new hair color."

Brendon kept silent. He did what he usually does. He walked towards Hera. Hera looked at him seriously and started laughing. "You're addicted to my pain, aren't you, Demi-god?"

"Shut up, I'm not in a good mood."

"That's good. Energy filled with hatred is the best." Hera smirked. The familiar pain entered Brendon, he moaned. He disgusts himself, but he loved the pain. As usual, memories flood into his mind. One by one, he assessed those new memories, ones that he never knew he had. Brendon pulled apart when he saw Golden Darkness in his memories. A feeling crept into his heart, he jerked apart. Hera's beauty regained, she laughed again. "I see, you were in love with the Golden Darkness, Demi-god."

Brendon breathed heavily. He loved Kaitlyn Swift once. She was his life before he died. She was his love before he died. And now that he remembered, Love found its way to his heart again. Imagse of Kaitlyn Swift flashed right in front of him. Brendon shook his head in denial, he banged his fist against the wall. Blood trickled down his fist, but it doesn't hurt at all. "I loved her, but not now. Brendon Armstrong is dead." He told himself. He loved Golden Darkness, not Kaitlyn Swift.

Hera took Brendon's bleeding fist and pulled it towards her chapped lips. She licked the blood off his fist with her eyes fixed on his face. She smirked, "You belong to no one now, demi-god, not one but me." Brendon stared hard at the half revived Golden Darkness, even with her damaged appearance; there was a hint of dark beauty in her. He could almost imagine how sinfully beautiful Hera was before she was destroyed. As much as he hated to admit, he knew there was always truth hidden behind Hera's words.

Brendon ignored the smug look Hera shot him and just left. He headed back to Olympus High. The dirty school of mortals, how long does he need to endure the dirtiness of mortals? He sighed. He went to his destination when he promised to meet the Golden Darkness.

It was half past the meeting time, but the Golden Darkness had not come. Brendon began worrying, but he knew that he should not. _It's for my job,_ Brendon tried to convince himself. If Golden Darkness was to die now, given her status of Raye's girlfriend, there was no doubt that she will choose Light Academy and he would definitely get in trouble with his… father.

"_Father…_" Brendon thought. It was hard to get used to the fact that Felix was his father. All his lifetime, he knew Felix as the mentor he always respected and fear. Even though Felix knew nothing about being Brendon's biological father, Brendon did not intend to reveal the truth about it. He would rather stick to this mentor-student relationship.

Because Brendon knew. He knew that if Felix were to ever find out the blood relationship between the both of them, he would waste no time in disposing of Brendon.

And Brendon will die.


	53. Chapter 53

_**Chapter 53:**_

Brendon leaned against the cold bench that turned warm from the heat radiated from his body. He took a glance at his watch; the Golden Darkness was already late for almost an hour. He sighed and rested his eyes. He felt like a fool. Usually, he would have left after waiting for a minute. Yet why was he still waiting for her, well knowing that she probably stood him up?

Feeling a sudden threatening presence, Brendon sat up almost immediately. Standing a few feet away from him was Kaitlyn. Brendon could see the fear in her steel-grey eyes as she regarded him with hatred.

"Golden Darkness?" He called out with curiosity.

As if brought out of trance, Kaitlyn's eyes widened as she mumbled, "Br-Brendon?" Her knees gave way as she fell onto the ground. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Her face was blank when she apologized. The fear in her eyes was gone. Brendon felt the urge to pull her into his arms for a hug, to comfort her, to let her know that it would be safe around him. However, Brendon kept his hands to himself, and instead of hugging her like he wanted, he extended his hands to her.

"Come on, we don't have much time," He said coldly, without looking at the Golden Darkness.

Brendon took her to a forest behind the filthy mortal school he was attending. As it was evening, the forest was dark, but Brendon knew the place well, he could find the cave easily.

"I'm sorry I was late. I had detention." Kaitlyn apologized.

"Wow," Brendon exclaimed sarcastically, "The model student with a detention slip, what is the World becoming to?"

"I-!" She argued but stopped mid-sentence. There was an awkward silence between both of them, except the sound of dead leaves crushing under their shoes. The walk suddenly felt really long. "Have you ever consider calling me Kaitlyn, or Swift, instead of Golden Darkness?"

"No." Brendon replied. _"I did, I used to called you Kaitlyn, but I doubt you remembered."_ Brendon added mentally. There was another long awkward silence between them after that; Kaitlyn seemed to give up trying to start a conversation.

"Are we there yet?" She inquired.

Brendon stopped, and inhaled the clean air. "We're here." He looked at the huge grand entrance of a menacing cave that seemed to house a man-eating bear. Brendon turned to Kaitlyn whose eyes were so wide open that it looked as though her eyeballs were going to drop out from her eye socket. Her expression was priceless. Brendon held back his laughter, as he imagined questions whirling in her mind.

"BRENDON ARMSTRONG," She hissed loudly. "YOU BETTER NOT HAVE ANY IDEAS UP YOUR SLEEVES BECAUSE YOU DO KNOW I'M STRONGER THAN YOU, RIGHT?" Despite her words, there was fear etched on her face.

"I'm not going to eat you alright," Brendon joked. "Follow me."

Kaitlyn stood rooted to the ground, unwilling to follow him. Brendon sighed.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Golden Darkness."

Kaitlyn still did not budge from her spot.

"No, really, Golden Darkness. It won't do me any good if I kill you."

Kaitlyn gave it a thought for a short moment before she was willing to go with him. Apparently, that sentence was convincing for her. As they walked deeper into the cave, Brendon was deep in thought. Did he still want her life? Did he really want Kaitlyn Swift to die? Brendon shook his head. Yes. He still wants her life, he need her to die. The feelings for her before he died must be forgotten. The only feeling he has for her now was purely for work. He must not even have any feelings for her. A blinding light suddenly lighted up the dark narrow cave walkway, and it broke Brendon's thoughts.

"We're here." He announced proudly.

Kaitlyn gave out a loud gasp behind Brendon. He could understand her feelings right now. The blinding light was moonlight reflected off by the crystal gemstones in the cave. The whole cave walls were filled by shiny black gemstones; it was a crystal gemstone paradise. There were some chunks of black gemstones standing near the entrance, and some, in the form of icicles hanging off the roof of the cave. The moonlight entered from a small hole on the roof. It was like scenery ripped off from a picture. The sight was beautiful.

"It's…" Kaitlyn held in her breath as she walked towards the wall of the cave and reached out her hands. "Beautiful!"

"Don't touch it!" Brendon warned but he was too late.

Kaitlyn stared at him blankly, her hands still on the walls. Brendon snatched her hand away and looked at it. "Are you okay?" He felt genuinely concerned, but caught himself before his feelings went out of control. He quickly let go off her hand. Kaitlyn nodded confusedly. "Those crystals are Obsidian. It helped to absorb anger, criticism and fear. It is a protective stone and is excellent for removing negativity, and acts as an excellent protection against psychic attacks." Brendon explained. "These stones burn us." To prove his point, Brendon touched the walls, and immediately, his skin began sizzling. He quickly pulled his hands back. Normally his skin would heal immediately, but due to having his energy sucked by the previous Golden Darkness, his skin would not heal as fast as it used to. Brendon squeezed his hands into a fist to cover his wounds. The Golden Darkness was looking at him with eyes full of worry.

"It'll heal soon." He found himself reassuring her. Kaitlyn let out a sigh of relief. "I'm a dark creature of the dead. I'm filled with negative energy; therefore these stones will hurt me. You, on the other hand, are a living mortal. Maybe that is why you were uninjured when you touched them." Brendon walked away from Kaitlyn. His uninjured hands were facing the crystals, and he shot out a small laser of light towards them. The stones absorbed the powers and glowed even brighter. "The reason why I brought you here to train is because the stones absorbed the powers. The best place for training." Brendon looked at Kaitlyn's eyes earnestly.

She nodded.

"This cave is the last one on Earth." Brendon continued.

"Why?"

"The dirty mortals destroyed all the other caves for their own greedy needs, for monetary purposes." He growled in anger, but felt the anger leaving him soon after. Brendon always felt at peace in this cave. This cave was his secret base; he brought no one here before. He did not even know what was he thinking when he brought Kaitlyn here.

Pity, and empathy was reflected off from Kaitlyn's eyes. It angered Brendon. He needed no pity from anyone. Instead of flaring up, he said, "Forget it. Let's carry on. Do you know how to shoot?"

Both of them practiced Kaitlyn's shooting for about an hour before he left her on her own. Brendon stared blankly at Kaitlyn while she practiced. He didn't know what came over him that he suddenly feels like a completely different person. It was all Hera's fault. If only she did not show him the feelings he had for Kaitlyn when he was alive… Maybe things would be different now. He had to constantly remind himself that he was doing this all for Felix. There was no such thing as 'love' in his dictionary. For a Dark Academy student, such as himself, there can only be hate. No matter what feelings he had for Kaitlyn while he was alive, he had to forget it and move on. Only that way, he could live proudly as a disciple of Felix, and a student of Dark Academy. Yes. That will be what he would tell himself from now onwards.

From the side of his eye, Brendon saw Kaitlyn's extended hands towards a dull and dark looking gemstone. Brendon immediately recognized the stone. It was not Obsidian, but a black-coated ruby. Ruby, a stone that is very stimulating and can bring anger or negativity quickly to the surface. Suddenly, whatever he told himself just now was all forgotten when he yelled out. "Don't shoot that stone!"

Again, he was too late. Instead of absorbing the beam Kaitlyn shot, it intensified the beam, making it stronger and reflected it. Kaitlyn's face was stunned while her eyes followed the beam as it shot up to the icicles of Obsidian hanging above. The Obsidian absorbed some of the powers, but because it was too strong, the beam broke several huge, sharp icicles right above Kaitlyn. She quickly bent down, with her hands over her hand as those heavy icicles slowly fall down on her. Brendon stared at those icicles as he quickly yelled at her.

"Kaitlyn!"


	54. Chapter 54

_**Chapter 54:**_

Kaitlyn awaited the pain that will follow after those icicles landed on her. She knew that even if those icicles would not burn her, the sharp ends of it might still pierce and hurt her. However, the pain never did come. Instead of pain, she felt heat and darkness. She opened her eyes and looked up. Brendon Armstrong was over her, with his arms around her, protecting her. Kaitlyn felt her heart skipped a beat. The icicles were broken into pieces beside her. The truth hit her.

Brendon protected her with his body.

Brendon's long sleeve was torn and revealed a black charred arm with a golden mark on it. It was even worse than the last time she saw his arm. Kaitlyn heard a sizzling sound as smoke rose from Brendon's back. His face shown pain and torture. Kaitlyn quickly swept the pieces of the stone icicles from his back. She then lifted his arm to examine his charred arm and the golden mark. When Brendon was finally conscious from his pain, he pulled his arm back.

"What is that?" Kaitlyn asked. "That was definitely not caused by Obsidian, isn't it?"

"It was none of your business, Golden Darkness." He mumbled.

"Yes, it is. You protected me."

"I did." Brendon's eyes bored into hers. "I protected you for my own good, I didn't do it for you."

Kaitlyn could not find any hints that he was lying. Yes, he was this type of person. He only did things for himself, and his Lord. That was no way he did things for her. The nice way he treated her before, would most probably be for his own benefits, not her. The way he looked at her with his eyes full of concern, the way he waiting for her for almost an hour? Kaitlyn must have imagined it all. A red wound on his palm caught Kaitlyn's eye. She snatched Brendon's arm.

"It should heal ages ago!" She exclaimed.

"This is different," Brendon mumbled softly, breaking all eye contact with her. "Burns from Obsidian would not heal as fast as a normal wound would."

"You're lying," Kaitlyn commented.

"I'm not."

"Then look at me, Brendon. Look at me, in my eyes, and tell me you're not lying."

There was a slight hesitation before Brendon looked into her eyes. "I am not lying."

"Give me an explanation for this then." She pointed to his charred arm.

"It is none of your business!" He repeated.

"It is!" Kaitlyn cried. "It is my business because you're my friend. You protected me." Some chunks of crystals suddenly broke into pieces because of her strong emotions. Brendon's eyes moved from her eyes to the crystals, and back to her eyes again. His eyes were full of amusement this time.

"I'm not your friend, Golden Darkness. Neither are you mine." He stood up so suddenly, that he was wobbling. "Tell this to no one. Because if you do, I will not aid you in your training." He threatened, before leaving the cave. Kaitlyn sat on the ground, dumbfounded, staring after Brendon's back. Kaitlyn shivered a little when she was reminded of how much Brendon resembled Felix with his blond hair. She felt fear when she saw Brendon sitting at the bench waiting for her because she thought he was Felix. She thought Brendon sold her off to his Dark Lord. At that moment, she felt like she was really going to die when she thought she saw Felix. The moment of relief when she saw that it was Brendon. She was so relieved that her knees gave way.

Kaitlyn remained on the ground, shaking slightly from fear from before. But she remained there at her spot until she was calmed, only returning home at dawn. Kaitlyn assumed that everyone was asleep when she finally returned home. She crept quietly to her room.

"What time is it now?" Kaitlyn jumped at Klaus's calm voice. "Where were you the whole night?" His voice rose.

"Why do you care?" Kaitlyn retorted.

Klaus's face was red with anger, as he started yelling. "What do I care? Kaitlyn Swift, don't you think you're getting out of hand? You stayed out the whole night, and only coming back at dawn. Instead of reflecting on what you're doing wrong, you actually asked me why do I care?"

"You lied to me, Klaus. And I doubt you even try to bother to tell me anything at all."

"Hell, Kaitlyn, you're still bitter about that? That was all for your own good!"

"For my own good? Are you kidding me? All my life I thought mum was killed because of dad. I thought mum died of heart attack. But the truth was, all along, she died while protecting me, and I did not even see her the last time."

"Kaitlyn, it wasn't your-"

"It was!" Kaitlyn interrupted Klaus halfway through his sentence. "Forget mum, but what about Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Aaron? They sacrificed their life for me!"

"They did that to protect you! Just like how I lied to protect you! You didn't talk to me for almost a month because of this, and now you're bitching about this right after you stayed out the whole night?"

"Whatever I did when I stayed the night out, is none of your business!" Kaitlyn felt angrier as her voice went higher. "I don't need you to butt in my business. You're no longer my broth-!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Klaus slapped her on her cheek. Kaitlyn felt a stinging pain on her cheek as she glared at him. Klaus looked at his hands like somebody else controlled his hands, then he looked at Kaitlyn with eyes filled with regret. Tears filled Kaitlyn's eyes. Klaus never slapped her before. Her tears were full of emotions. Anger, hatred, hurt, betrayed and disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Kaitlyn's dad walked down the stairs. His face told Kaitlyn that he was awoken by the argument between the siblings. "Why are you two arguing at such an inappropriate time? The Sun is not even up yet."

"I'm sorry, Kaitlyn. Oh my god. I am so sorry." Klaus inched closer to Kaitlyn, his hands reaching to soothe her cheeks.

"Don't touch me!" Kaitlyn jerked her hands away from Klaus. He looked hurt when she did so. When Kaitlyn could no longer hold in the tears, she ran straight to her room, no longer bothered to keep it a secret.

"Kaitlyn?" Her dad finally realized that this was no small sibling fight the both of them usually had. "Why are you still in your outdoor outfit?"

Kaitlyn ignored her dad and ran past him. On her way to her room, she ran past Aunt Pamela who was on her way down to see what was wrong. Kaitlyn slammed the door behind her and sobbed with her back facing her door. Behind her door, Kaitlyn could hear her dad screaming at Klaus about what happened, but their voices were muffled, just the way Kaitlyn wanted it.

Klaus was Kaitlyn's most precious and trusted person after her mother died. Klaus loved her, protected her and never once did he scold nor hit her. This was the first time. Klaus betrayed her trust when she realized that he was lying to her. Her tears flowed like a tap when she realized this was the second time within one year that someone betrayed her trust. Chris was the first. Kaitlyn felt alone. She felt like she could not trust anybody else in the World, including Raye.

She liked Raye. But after all, Raye was a creature of the Otherworld and every creature of the Otherworld all wanted her dead. What if Raye was like all the others, what if Raye wanted her dead the most? Was that why he got close to her? Was that why he pretended to be nice to her like Brendon did in the cave? Kaitlyn never felt so vulnerable, so weak, and so alone. That night, Kaitlyn cried herself to sleep, again.

Kaitlyn woke up a few hours later to the many vibrations of her phone. She felt that her eyes were puffy, and her throat hoarse. She checked her phone. There were 26 text messages from Raye and 5 from Tiffany, all asking her if she was alright and safe. In addition, there were 18 missed calls from Raye. The phone vibrated soon after she checked her phone.

"Hello?" Kaitlyn picked up. Her voice sounded like a man.

"Kaitlyn?" Raye's voice sounded worried. "You finally picked up. Are you okay? Did Brendon do anything to you? Why didn't you text me as you promised?"

"I'm sorry… I… I forgot. I was too tired and fell asleep right after I reached home."

"Are you alright, Kaitlyn? You don't sound right. Did something happen? Did Brendon do anything to you? Where did he bring you? What did you guys do?"

"No!" Kaitlyn exclaimed. Realizing how agitated she sounded, she cleared her throat. "No. Brendon didn't do anything to me. He brought me to-" Kaitlyn wanted to tell Raye everything about yesterday, but she felt that she should not reveal anything to him yet.

"Kaitlyn?"

"Sorry. He brought me to a clear forest, and taught me how to shot beams. That was all." She reported.

"Did you cry?" Raye's sudden question caused Kaitlyn to be speechless.

"I did not." Kaitlyn lied. "What made you think so?"

"Don't lie. Your voice sounded hoarse." Raye commented. "What happened?"

Tears were threatening to fall again. "I fought with Klaus and he… slap me."

"Klaus?" Raye yelled.

"My brother…"

"What? Why?"

"Long story."

"Okay. Tell me about it later? Shall we meet? I have something to pass to you." Raye sounded excited.

Feeling cruel to turn him down, Kaitlyn agreed. She took a quick shower and washed her face. She headed down without wasting any time and ran off. She was glad she did not have to face Klaus, her dad or even Aunt Pamela. She finally reached the place she was supposed to meet Raye at. He was already there, holding on to a small cutely-decorated bag. He waved at her enthusiastically. Kaitlyn returned the wave. The both of them moved towards Starbucks and ordered a latte each.

"So, what happened?" Raye asked. "You don't look good."

Translation: You looked bad.

Kaitlyn felt the tears again as she poured the story out for Raye. She could not control herself, she needed someone to confide in, and Raye was the one. Although Kaitlyn was wondering if she should trust him, she just could not control herself. Raye listened to her quietly, nodding to indicate that he was listening. When she was done, her make-up was smeared, and she looked extremely horrible with her tear-stained face. Raye pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay," He coaxed. "Your brother was, after all, worried about you. At least he showed his care and concern for you." It took Raye more than fifteen minutes to calm Kaitlyn down.

"So what was it that you wanted to give or show me?" Kaitlyn asked curiously after she reapplied her make-up and washed her face.

"Oh yes!" Raye was so excited when he passed her the cute bag. "Open up!"

Kaitlyn smiled a little as she slowly opened up the box inside the bag.

"I spent the whole night making it!" Raye stated proudly.

"Obsidian?" Kaitlyn gasped when she opened up the box. In the box, there was a necklace lying in it. A black gemstone was hanging off the chain. It was beautifully decorated.

"You knew about the stone? It took me a long time to find it on eBay." Raye was a little disappointed.

"I read about it once when doing my project." Kaitlyn lied as she picked up the necklace. "It's beautiful." Kaitlyn marveled at the detailed crafting and the lovely gemstone, flashing in the Sunlight.

"Then you should know why I gave this to you?" He asked.

"To protect me?"

Raye smiled and nodded, giving her a small kiss on her lips. "It will absorb negativity, and will protect you against Felix's attack."

Kaitlyn smiled, but her smile died when she remembered how the stone burnt Brendon yesterday. "Didn't it burn you?"

"Burn? How did you know it will burn me?"

"I just know." Kaitlyn teased, keeping it a secret about the cave.

"I wore gloves. Although it did burn a little of my skin. I wasted many gloves." He grinned sheepishly.

Kaitlyn snatched his hands and examined it. It was flawless and smooth, no signs of burn nor was it red.

"Hey, I'm alright, Kait. It healed seconds after I got burnt."

"Seconds?"

"Yep," He nodded, drinking a sip of his lukewarm latte. "Fast, isn't it?"

"Would it differ from Dark Academy students?"

"Why the sudden change of topic to dark acad?"

"No, I was just wondering that if it burns and it hurt them, I can, well, use it against them?" She felt that she was becoming better and better at lying.

"Oh. I don't know." He looked away. "Since they emit more negativity, maybe it would burn them more than it would burn us light acad students?"

"But would they heal?"

"Yes. No, it depends on the size of the stone. If they touched it for some time, it will heal after minutes. At most half an hour."

The gears in Kaitlyn's mind were turning. Even after hours, Brendon's hands did not heal from the time he touched the stone barehanded. How was that possible? Did it have anything to do with his charred arms? There were so many things Kaitlyn wanted to ask Raye, but she knew that it would definitely make her suspicious so she kept her questions for next time.

While Raye took her for a romantic stroll in the park, her mind was full of Brendon. Although she was guilty about it, her curiosity weighed out her guilt. Brendon was hiding something from her, and she was determined to find out what. Firstly, she must know what caused that golden mark on his black charred arm and it was probably the reason which deterred his healing abilities. Kaitlyn's first guess was Felix, but she could feel a strong possession and power emitting from the golden mark. This probably mean that the mark and charred arm came from someone much more powerful than Felix. It got Kaitlyn's mind thinking, but she just could not figured out whom. Kaitlyn was determined to solve the puzzle in her head. She swore to herself, that she will definitely find out who, or what, caused Brendon's charred arm, and she will get to the bottom of this.


End file.
